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Book_IB tie_ 

Copight N° _ ^ ^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 

















LOST. Schenk 



.9,'7/o. 


PREFACE 



. e: 


o 


This book is intended to provide schools with 
English lessons adapted to modern methods of 
instruction. 

Such English lessons, it is generally agreed, 
should (i) lead the child into an appreciative and 
. uplifting intimacy with noble literature; (2) foster 
in him a certain agility of thought and imagina¬ 
tion, and habits of easy and correct expression ; and 
(3) introduce him to the formal study of language. 

In pursuing these recognized ends of English 
instruction, teachers and schools find themselves 
limited or directed by two things: (1) the special 
needs of their particular pupils, and (2) the require¬ 
ments of Superintendents or prescribed “ Courses 
of Study.” Extremely diverse are the needs of 
pupils in different localities; and the courses of 
study prescribed for different schools are by no 
means the same. 

From this it seems clear that a book of English 
lessons which is to be really and widely useful 
should not lay the emphasis too strongly on any 
one phase of English work, nor attempt .to define 
too closely the precise order in which the material 
presented should be used. 

The function of the text-book, then, is to treat 



VI 


PREFACE 


clearly and simply, in natural and logical order, 
the various topics that belong to elementary in¬ 
struction in English, and to accompany this orderly 
presentation with illustrative, literary, and* practical 
material of the right kind, carefully adapted to use 
in the schoolroom, and so correlated that the text¬ 
book presents an excellent plan to follow when no 
local needs interfere with the order laid down. 
The regular treatment is supplemented by an 
abundance of optional matter so as to admit of the 
greatest liberty of choice where teachers or super¬ 
intendents see fit to exercise it. 

The merits of the “ spiral system ” have not been 
overlooked. By constant recurrence in the exer¬ 
cises to principles previously expounded, all the 
best features of this system have been retained 
without disturbing the logical sequence which ex¬ 
perience has shown to be so important. 

The necessity for frequently reviewing difficult 
points has too often been pleaded as an excuse for 
throwing together a mass of material which merely 
reiterated leading facts, from time to time, without 
developing principles, and lacked entirely either log¬ 
ical or convenient arrangement. As a matter of fact, 
there is no more important factor in facilitating 
constant reviews and drills than an arrangement 
which enables both teacher and pupil to turn, with¬ 
out loss of time, to a full and clear exposition of the 
topic under consideration. For a fresh point of 
view on principles already presented the supple¬ 
mentary work will be found of great value. 

The ojDening chapters of Modern English Les- 


PREFACE 


vii 

sons endeavor to provide work that will awaken 
thought, develop the imagination, and create an 
interest in expression. This is done in the belief 
that the chief fault with much of the language 
study in our schools is the emphasis placed so early 
and so exclusively on form at the expense of a vital 
interest in the subject. Recognizing, however, 
that in many places it will be impossible to use 
this material, we have set it aside as an introduc¬ 
tion, thus classifying it among the purely optional 
features of the book. 

The lessons on the formal side of expression in¬ 
clude those matters which, by common consent, 
belong to elementary teaching. The exposition is 
inductive and has been made as clear and concise 
as possible. 

The creation of a truly literary atmosphere, 
which should fill the mind of the child with beauti¬ 
ful images and high sentiments, has been a constant 
aim. To this end the selections for reading and 
study have been chosen with the greatest care, and 
nothing has been admitted that failed to conform 
to the highest standards. Even the sentences for 
copying and illustration have been taken, whenever 
possible, from ennobling literature. This quality, 
it is believed, will prove to be a unique and valuable 
feature. 

The literature studies provide, moreover, plenty 
of material for the children to draw on for oral and 
written work. Before pupils can be interested in 
writing they must have something.to write; other¬ 
wise their work in expression will lack content and 


PREFACE 


viii 

spontaneity. Solomon John Peterkin had every 
necessary appliance for writing - a book—a desk, 
paper, pens, and ink—but his book was never 
written because he had nothing to say. 

The exercises are abundant and varied, including, 
among other things, many composition drills and a 
number of drawing exercises. The drawing of pic¬ 
tures, however crude, is recognized as an interest¬ 
ing and valuable help in the study of literature. 

To take all of the exercises, even all of those laid 
out in the body of the book, would be, perhaps, too 
much for any one class. Here, as everywhere, al¬ 
lowance has been made for individual preferences. 

The many sentences and paragraphs for copying 
have been inserted to meet the requirements of 
certain schools. 

The thanks of the authors are due to Miss Eleanor 
E. Davie for valuable assistance in preparing the 
manuscript, and for editorial supervision of the 
book while going through the press; also to Miss 
Anna M. Clark for assistance in preparing some of 
the exercises. 

The authors are indebted to Messrs. Houghton, 
Mifflin & Company for the use of extracts from the 
works of Longfellow, John Burroughs, Celia Thax- 
ter, and T. B. Aldrich; to the Century Company 
for Edwin Booth’s Letter; to Messrs. Charles Scrib¬ 
ner’s Sons for extracts from the works of Steven¬ 
son, Joel Chandler Harris, and Oliver Hereford; to 
Messrs. E. P. Dutton & Company for Phillips 
Brooks’s Letter; and to Messrs. Harper Brothers 
for the use of sundry illustrations. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION 


THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 1 

Section I. Mental Pictures. 3 

Section II. Rab . 7 

Section III. Young Night Thought . 10 

Section IV. The Balloon . 13 

Section V. We Tell Ideas by Tongue Sounds or 

Words. 15 

Section VI. Hiaivatha's Childhood. . 17 

Section VII. The Song of the Seeds in the Spring 21 

Section VIII. How Language is Written. 23 

Section IX. Hiawatha's Picture- Writing . 27 

Summary of Introduction. 31 

Supplementary Work. 31 


BOOK I 

LESSONS IN LANGUAGE AND LITERA¬ 


TURE. 37 

Chapter I.-— The W t riting of Names . 39 

Section X. How Names of Persons are Written.. 39 

Section XI. Choosing a Name . 41 

Section XII. How Initials are Written. 43 

Section XIII. A Story of Washington. ..• 45 

Section XIV. How Titles are Written. 47 




















X 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Section XV. A Flood in the Chimney . 49 

Section XVI. How I and O are Written. 51 

Section XVII. When the Little Boy Ran Away .. 53 

Section XVIII. How Names of Places are Written 57 

Section XIX. The Law of the Jungle . 59 

Section XX. How Names of Months are Written 62 

Section XXI. October's Bright Blue Weather. _ 65 

Section XXII. How Names of Days are Written 69 

Section XXIII. Opportunity . 71 

Section XXIV. How Dates are Written... 72 

Section XXV. Lost . 74 

Summary of Chapter 1. 75 

Supplementary Work. 75 

Chapter II.— Rules for Punctuation . 84 

Section XXVI. Sentence Writing. . . 84 

Section XXVII. The Water Lily .. 89 

Section XXVIII. Ownership or Possession. 91 

Section XXIX. Androcles and the Lion . 93 

Section XXX. Contractions. 97 

Section XXXI. Twickenham Ferry . 100 

Section XXXII. Quotations. 102 

Section XXXIII. A Mad Tea Party . 107 

Section XXXIV. Divided Quotations. 109 

Section XXXV. Alec Yeaton's Son . 112 

Section XXXVI. The Comma in Address. 115 

Section XXXVII. A Tar-Baby . 117 

Section XXXVIII. The Comma in a Series. 123 

Section XXXIX. Calling the Ferryman . 125 

Section XL. The Hyphen. 126 

Section XLI. The Sandpiper . 128 

Section XLII. Paragraphs. 130 

Summary of Chapter II. 131 

Supplementary Work. 132 






























TABLE OF CONTENTS xi 

PAGE 

Chapter III.—Common Errors. 138 

Section XLIII. Some Words Not in Good Use. .. 138 

Section XLIV. Is and Are. 140 

Section XLV. Was and Were. 143 

Section XLVI. Has and Have. 14G 

Section XLVII. Did and Done. 148 

Section XLVIII. Give and Gave. 150 

Section XLIX. See, Saw, and Seen. 151 

Section L. May and Can. 152 

Section LI. Them and Those. 153 

Section LII. Learn and Teach. 155 

Section LI 11. Leave and Let. 157 

Section LIV. Sit, Sat, and Set. 158 

Section LV. Lie and Lay. 160 

Summary of Chapter III. 161 

BOOK II. 

LESSONS IN GRAMMAR, LITERATURE, 

AND COMPOSITION. 167 

Chapter IV.— Letter-Writing. 169 

Section LVI. The Form of a Letter. 169 

Section LVI I. A Letter from Phillips Brooks to 

His Niece .. 173 

Section LVIII. Addresses. .... 176 

Section LIX. A Letter from Edwin Booth to His 

Daughter . 178 

Section LX. Addressing the Envelope. 180 

Section LXI. A Letter from Lord Macaulay to 

His Niece ..:. 182 

Section LXII. Paper and Envelope. 184 

Section LXIII. A Letter from Thomas Hood to a 

Little Girl. . 186 

Section LX IV. Business Letters. 189 



























xii TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Section LXV. A Letter Written by Marjorie Flem¬ 
ing. . 192 

Section LXVI. Formal Invitations and Replies .. 193 

Summary of Chapter IV. 194 

Supplementary Work. 195 

Chapter V.— Sentences and Their Structure .. 199 

Section LXVII. Sentences. 199 

Section LXVIII. The Brook . 202 

Section LXIX. Subject and Predicate. 205 

Section LXX. Composition. Subject —A Brook .. 208 

Section LXXI. Position of the Subject. 209 

Section LXXII. An Autumn After?ioon . 212 

Section LXXIII. The Simple Subject.-214 

Section LXXIV. Composition. Subject —A Walk 216 

Section LXXV. The Verb. 217 

Section LXXVI. Mine Host of *' The Golden 

Apple ”. 220 

Section LXXVII. Verbs Containing More Than 

One Word. 221 % 

Section LXXVIII. Lucy . 224 

Section LXXI'X. Complements. 225 

Section LXXX. In School Days . 227 

Section LXXXI. Composition. Subjects —A 

Building and A Schoolhouse . 230 

Section LXXXII. Direct Objects. 231 

Section LXXXIII. The Tourney . 233 

Section LXXXIV. Attribute Complements. 234 

Section LXXXV. Rivers . 236 

Section LXXXVI. Modifiers. 238 

Section LXXXVII. At Sea . 240 

Section LXXXVIII. Phrases. 243 

Section LXXXIX. Composition. Subject — A 

River . 246 


























TABLE OF CONTENTS xiii 

PAGE 

Section XC. Clauses. 247 

Section XCI. The Owl and the Pussy Cat . 250 

Section XCI I. Classification of Sentences. 252 

Section XCI II. Composition. Subject— Selection 

about a Clock . 254 

Section XCIV. Castles in Spain . 255 

Section XCV. Punctuation of Phrases and 

Clauses. 257 

Section XCVI. Where Lies the Landl . 259 

Summary of Chapter V. 261 


Chapter VI.—The Parts of Speech. 263 

Section XCVII. Nouns . 263 

Section XCVI 11. Robin Redbreast . 268 

Section XCIX. Composition. Subject —Snow . .. 272 

Section C. Pronouns. 273 

Section Cl. Young Lochmvar . 275 

Section CII. Composition. Subject —“Is Man a 
Good Creature ? ” From the Bird’s Point of 

View. 279 

Section Cl 11. Adjectives. .... 280 

Section CIV. The King of Denmark's Ride . 283 

Section CV. Composition. Subject —A Ride .... 286 

Section CVI. Adverbs. 287 

Section CVII. How They Brought the Good 

News from Ghent to Aix . 290 

Section CVIII, Composition. Subject —A Noble 

Horse . 293 

Section CIX. Prepositions. 294 

Section CX. The National Flag. . 296 

Section CXI. Composition. Subjects —The Old 

Flag; The Stars and Stripes in the Philip¬ 
pines ; What the Flag of the “ Oregon ” Saw ; 
Serving Our Country . 298 
























XIV 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Section CXI I. Conjunctions. 299 

Section CXIII. Interjections. 301 

Section CXIV. Carcassomie . 302 

Section CXV. Composition. Subject— A Summer 

Evening . 306 

Section CXVI. Composition. Subjects— Our 
Neighborhood; What I Like to Do; A Place 
I Enjoy; My Favorite Room; A Strange- 
Looking Package on Christmas Eve; Lost in 
the Woods ; Adrift in a Boat without Oars or 
Sail; In Her Stocking on Christmas Morning; 


Locked In . 307 

Summary of Chapter VI. 308 








INTRODUCTION 


THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE 




































* 






■ • 




• 








































. 

















































































INTRODUCTION 


The Nature of Language 

Section I. MENTAL PICTURES. 

You have had a great many lessons in which 
you have had to use your eyes. To-day we are 
going to have one with your eyes shut, at least 
part of the time. And the strangest thing 
about it is that this lesson with your eyes shut 
is to be about pictures.' When you hear me 
say “ pictures,” you probably think of something 
printed on paper or drawn on the blackboard. 
To see such pictures you, of course, must use 
your eyes and have light. But the pictures we 
are going to learn about to-day are not on paper 
or on the blackboard. They are in the mind, 
and you can see them just as well with your eyes 
shut as you can when they are open. You can 
also see these pictures when you are asleep, and 
you often do see them in your dreams. We will 
begin, though, by talking about a real object, 
an animal. 

What animal shall we talk about ? A horse, 
an elephant, a monkey, a lion, a dog, or a cow? 


4 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


1. Conversation. 

Have you ever seen one of these animals that 
we are to talk about? What color was it? 
How many hoofs (paws) did it have? What 
was the shape of its head? Was its tail long? 
How tall was it? Can you tell me something 
else about it ? 

While telling me this were you looking at the 
animal which we are talking about? 

Were you looking at a printed picture of the 
animal ? 

If you were not looking at a real animal or a 
printed picture of the animal, how could you tell 
so clearly just how it looks ? 

It is because you have in your mind a picture 
of the animal. 

This picture in your mind is not as distinct 
as a real animal or a printed picture of an ani¬ 
mal, but it is certainly there. If it were not in 
your mind, you could not have answered the 
questions. 

Pictures in the mind are called Mental Pic¬ 
tures or Ideas. 


2. Oral Exercises. 

a. With your eyes closed tell what you can about 
the size, color, shade , hair, tall, and feet of some 
other animal . Tell anything else about it that you 
remember , 


MENTAL PICTURES OR IDEAS 


5 


b. Could you see a real picture or a printed pic¬ 
ture of the animal with your eyes closed? What 
sort of picture do you see with your eyes closed? 


3. Written Exercises. 

a. Draw the picture suggested to your mind by 
the following lines: 

Under a spreading chestnut tree 
The village smithy stands. 

—Henry Wadsioorth Longfellow. 

b. Copy the following group of words : 1 

CL pa/i/u>t iW> bxu^kl jmJJwbb. 

Notice that this group of words , which is called 
a sentence , begins with a capital letter, and ends 
with a period. 


c. Write two or more sentences of your own 
about one of the following animals. Begin each 
sentence with a capital , and end it with a period: 

Chicken Sheep Snake Frog 

Calf Parrot Fish Turtle 


1 To the Teacher .—It is not necessary to introduce the difficult definition 
of a sentence till much later. On the other hand, it is not necessary to post¬ 
pone all use of this convenient term until it can be logically defined. How 
many grown people can define ad the terms they use correctly ? 



6 MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 

d. Copy the following sentences : 

SKjl cla/mx ttulcLg cl cuAiIMlj/.' 

cjxilluA^ TuymoiA. 

1TL j i^iJb m ahb pXXu/uA arfw/vb tlmj/ QAe A$uXt. 
£. learn by heart the following : 1 

MJbv kuoJb Am ikv uri/nxi ? 

TIuIFwl i^oll tloA, d: 

Hut urfWrL \JKjl t tWLb Irour djdvjvb tliuA/li mxlb 
c)Ajg u/i/yut U) p <ijbM/v\x^ 



U/ixe' IvcU) mjuto tFi g u/i/vui ?J 
RutluA, d TLO^L Ijxm: 

Hut u Au/yv t Hvi, hoaxrtb ham/fr VwyyxIjwyic^ 

dlix la/vvlcL U> puA6i/ru^ tiWm^Fv. 


1 To the Teacher .—When a literary selection, whether long or short, is 
assigned to pupils for study, it is desirable for the teacher to read it aloud ; for 
good vocal interpretation by the teacher is very important in helping pupils to 
grasp the meaning of the piece, and, what is even more important, to feel its 
emotional qualities and beauty of form. Literature, especially poetry, is 
written to be read, as music is written to be played ; and if it is to have its 
full effect, it must, like music, be well rendered, 




Section II. MTERATURE STUDY. 

This description of a dog is from a true story 
called “ Rab and His Friends,” by Dr. John 
Brown, a physician who lived in Edinburgh, 
Scotland. Can you gain from it a clear mental 
picture of the dog Rab ? 

RAB. 

I wish you could have seen him. There are no such 
dogs now. He belonged to a lost tribe. As I have said, 
he was brindled, and gray like granite ; his hair short, hard, 
and close, like a lion’s ; his body thick-set, like a little bull. 
He must have been ninety pounds’ weight, at least; he had 
a large, blunt head; his muzzle black as night, his mouth 
blacker than any night, a tooth or two—being all he had— 
gleaming out of his jaws of darkness. His head was scarred 
with the records of old wounds, a sort of series of fields 
of battle all over it; one eye out, one ear cropped close; 
the remaining eye had the power of two ; and above it was 
a tattered rag of an ear, which was forever unfurling itself 
like an old flag; and then that bud of a tail, about one inch 
long, if it could in any sense be said to be long, being as 
broad as long .—John Brown , M.D. 






8 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


4. Interpretation. 

What was Rab’s color? his size? How do 
you know he was a strong dog ? a great 
fighter ? What makes you think he was not a 
pretty dog? Was he playful? Do you think 
he was intelligent? Why do you think so? 

Count the number of things about Rab that 
Dr. Brown describes in order to give us a men¬ 
tal picture of him. Which can you see most 
plainly ? Which impresses you most ? 

To what is his color compared? his hair ? his 
body? his muzzle? his head? his ear? 

Look carefully to-night at some pet or play¬ 
thing you have at home, and think how you will 
describe it to-morrow, so that we all can see in 
our minds how it looks. The clearness of your 
description will depend much upon the care with 
which you look at it to-night. 

5. Oral Exercises. 1 

a. Describe Dab in your own words. 

b. Describe some pet or plaything that you have 
at home , so that we too can have a mental picture 
of it. 

c. Tell us something you saw or did on your 
way to school this mornmg , so that we can see it 
as clearly as you do. 

1 To the Teacher. —In this early work in expression, put the emphasis on 
substance. Encourage a healthy rivalry among the children to make it inter¬ 
esting. Help young or backward children by asking questions. 



MENTAL PICTURES OR IDEAS 


9 


(*>. Written Exercises. 

a. Choose the best description given in class , 
for your teacher to write on the board. Copy it 
carefully , giving your classmate's name at the 
end. 

b. Copy the following sentences , filling in the 
blanks with your own words. Be careful to choose 
the best words , so that your classmates will have a 
clear picture of what is in your mind : 1 

1. In my room is a-. It is made of ——, and it is 

-and-. 

2. From my window I can see --. It looks- and 

-in the sunset light. 

3. The inside of the-- is-. The seeds are-. 

The-grows on a -. 

c. Draw a picture of Bab. 

Memory Gem. 

Good-night, 

Sleep tight, 

Wake up bright 
In the morning light, 

• To do what’s right, 

With all your might. 


1 To the Teacher .—Note the arrangement of these sentences in paragraphs. 
Children should be taught from the beginning to group their thoughts into 
paragraphs, though no conscious instruction in the unity of the paragraph 
need be given yet. This idea should be at first a matter of example and prac¬ 
tice, rather than of precept. Call the attention of the children to the indenting 
of the first word of each group of sentences. 















10 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section III. LITERATURE BTUD1. 

The following poem is by Robert Louis 
Stevenson, a great writer of tales, who lived in 
Edinburgh. His 
“ Treasure Island ” 
is a fine pirate 
story. 



From “ Twilight Land.” 


Copyright, 1894, by Harper & Brothers. 


Young Night Thought. 

All night long and every night, 

When my mamma puts out the light, 
I see the people marching by, 

As plain as day, before my eye. 







MENTAL PICTURES OR IDEAS 


11 


Armies and emperors and kings, 

All carrying different kinds of things, 

And marching in so grand a way, 

You never saw the like by day. 

So fine a show was never seen, 

At the great circus on the green, 

For every kind of beast and man 
Is marching in that caravan. 

At first they move a little slow, • 

But still the faster on they go, 

And still beside them close I keep 
Until we reach the town of Sleep . 1 

—Robert Louis Stevenson. 


7. Interpretation. 

Who is speaking in this poem ? Name the 
things that he says he sees after his niamma 
puts out the light. Are they real things or only 
mental pictures ? Tell how you know. 

What do you think the armies and emperors 
and kings would be carrying? 

What is the meaning of “ on the green ” ? 
What is a caravan ? 

Can you tell why the procession seems at 
first to move a little slow, and afterwards to 
go faster ? 

What brings the procession to an end? Is 
the little boy awake or asleep when he sees it ? 

1 From “A Child’s Garden of Verses,” published by Messrs. Charles Scrib¬ 
ner’s Sons, N. Y. 



12 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


8. Oral Exercises. 

a. If you can remember a dream which you once 
had , describe what you saw in your dream and tell 
what happened in it. 

b. Recall something pretty you once saw , and 
tell your classmates about it. 

O. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the first eight lines of “ Young Night 
Thought y 

b. Copy as many of the following sentences as 
the teacher may direct: 

(1) Sweet is the breath of morn.— John Milton. 

(2) There was an owl lived in an oak.— Nursery 
Rhyme. . 

(3) Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get 
wisdom. 

(4) Up rose the sun, and up rose Emilie.— Geoffrey 
Chaucer. 

(5) Truth is the highest thing that man may keep.— 
Geoffrey Chaucer. 

(6) Dare to be true. Nothing can need a lie, 

A fault which needs it most grows two thereby. 

— George Herbert. 

(7) When life is all sport, toil is the real play. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

(8) A dainty plant is the ivy green.— Sir Walter Scott. 

(9) It is more blessed to give than to receive. 

(10) A living dog is better than a dead lion. 


MENTAL PICTURES OR IDEAS 


13 


c. Copy the following select ion: 

A man has a sharper eye than a dog, or a fox, or than 
any of the wild creatures, but not so sharp an ear or nose. 
But in the birds he finds his match. How quickly the old 
turkey discovers the hawk, a mere speck against the sky, 
and how quickly the hawk discovers you if you happen to 
be secreted in the bushes, or behind the fence near which 
he alights !—John Burroughs. 

Memory Gem. 

He prayeth best who loveth best 
All things, both great and small; 

For the dear God who loveth us, 

He made and loveth all. 

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 


Section IV. THE BALLOON. 

Did you ever have an experience like that in 
the picture on the following page? Tell about 
it. How was it like that of the haymakers ? 
How was it unlike? 

Have the haymakers just stopped work, or 
have they been looking a long time ? Who do 
you suppose saw the balloon first ? Do you 
think the haymakers are frightened or only 
interested? 

. Look at each person ; tell what each is doing. 
Who are they? Why are the women working 
in the field ? Is it a scene in your own coun¬ 
try ? Why do you think so ? 


14 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Why should the picture be named after an 
object so indistinct ? Would any other name do 
as well ? 



1851 THE BALLOON, Julien Dupre. 

IO. Oral Exercise. 


Imagine you are the boy hueeling in the hay , or 
one of the others , and tell the story of the balloon . 






THE TELLING OF IDEAS 


15 


11. Written Exercises. 


a. Imagine you are one of the persons in the 
picture , and write ivhat he probably said when he 
first saw the balloon. 

b. Write a sentence in which, yon describe the 
meadow. 

c. Use the following words and phrases in sen¬ 
tences which will tell something about the picture 
or your own experience: 


bare-headed 

kneeling 

shielding 

intently 


distant hills 
a gray speck 
open-mouthed 
floated 


hay-mounds 

cloudless 

look 

surprise 


Memory Gem. 

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse, 

The howling dog by the door of the house, 

The bat that lies in bed at noon, 

All love to be out by the light of the moon. 

—Hobert Louis Stevenson. 


Section V. WE TEEE IDEAS BY TONGUE 
SOUNDS OR WORDS. 

You have all noticed that when a baby is 
hungry it cries. If it is cold, it cries. If a pin 
sticks it, it cries. If it is frightened, it cries. It 
tries hard to express the few ideas in its little 
head, but the only way it understands is to cry. 
And very often its mother cannot tell whether its 
cry means “ hungry,” “ cold,”“ hurt "“frightened,” 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


16 

or something else. The poet Tennyson calls 
it: 

An infant crying in the night 
And with no language but a cry. 

When the baby gets older, it begins to observe 
that grown people indicate certain objects or 
ideas by peculiar tongue sounds. It discovers 
that the tongue sound for one thing is “sugar,” 
for another “ ball,” for another “ cat ” or “ kitty,” 
for another “ horse.” After a while it begins to 
make these sounds for itself as signs of objects 
or ideas. When it does this, the baby has be¬ 
gun to talk. 

A tongue sound used to indicate an object or 
an idea is called a Word. 

12 . Oral Exercises. 

a. Give the tongue sound for each of the objects 
which your teacher holds up; for the taste of 
sugar , of vinegar; for the color of chalk , of the 
house you live in. 

b. Which of the following words calls up to mind 
a sound? a sight? a smell? a taste? a touch? 


roar 

clang 

spicy 

sweet 

fragrant 

sour 

shriek 

engine 

rustle 

whisper 

icy 

crash 

gay 

twinkle 

snowy 

clatter 

smooth 

simmer 

rough 

babble 


17 


THE TELLING OF IDEAS 

c. Use each of the following ivords to describe 
an object: 

clang sweet fragrant 

rustle smooth murmur 

13. Written Exercises. 

a. Select the most interesting sentences given by 
your classmates in the second section of the Oral 
Exercise, and ask your teacher to write them on 
the blackboard, with the names of their authors. 
Then copy the sentences. 

b. Copy and learn by heart the following sen¬ 
tences: 

(1) There is ncf peace to the wicked. 

(2) The way of transgressors is hard. 

(3) A thing of beauty is a joy forever .—John Keats. 

Memory Gem. 

Oh sleep ! it is a gentle thing, 

Beloved from pole to pole. 

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 


Section VI. LITERATURE STUDY. 

The following selection is from Longfellow’s 
“The Song of Hiawatha.” Hiawatha was an 
ancient hero of the North American Indians, 
who believed that he had come down from 
heaven to help and teach them. 


18 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



Read the selection carefully: 

Hiawatha’s Childhood. 

At the door on summer evenings 
Sat the little Hiawatha; [trees, 
Heard the whispering of the pine- 
Heard the lapping of the water, 
Sounds of music, words of wonder; 

“ Minne-wawa! ” said the pine-trees, 
“ Mudway-aushka ! ” said the water. 

Saw the firefly, Wah-vvah-taysee, 
Flitting through the dusk of evening, 
With the twinkle of its candle 
Lighting up the brakes and bushes, 
And he sang the song of children, 
Sang the song Nokomis taught him: 
“ Wah-wah-taysee, little firefly. 

Little, flitting, white-fire insect, 

Little, dancing, white-fire creature, 

Light me with your little candle, \ 

Ere upon my bed I lay me, 

Ere in sleep I close my eyelids ! ” 

Forth into the forest straightway 
All alone walked Hiawatha 
Proudly, with his bow and arrows; 

Andthebirds sang roundhim,o’erhim, 

“ Do not shoot us, Hiawatha! ” 

Sang the robin, the Opechee, 

Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa, 

“ Do not shoot us, Hiawatha! ” 

Up the oak-tree, close beside him, 

Sprang the squirrel, Adjidaumo, 

In and out among the branches, 

Coughed and chattered from the oak-tree, 

Laughed, and said between his laughing, 

“ F)o not shoot me, Hiawatha! ” 




THE TELLING OF IDEAS 


19 


14. Interpretation. 

What did Hiawatha call the firefly ? Why 
did Hiawatha call the firefly “ Little, dancing, 
white-fire creature ” ? 

What is the difference between “ brakes ” and 
“bushes”? 

What was Hiawatha’s name for the robin ? 
for the bluebird ? for the squirrel ? 

What words in the poem exactly express the 
sound of the pine-trees ? the sound of the 
water? the motion of the firefly? the sound 
made by the squirrel ? 

Can you think of any other words besides 
those used by Longfellow that would express 
the same thing? 

If you like this selection, ask your teacher to 
read to you the whole of “ Hiawatha’s Child¬ 
hood.” 

15. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell in your own words how Hiawatha spent 
It is evenings. 

b. Tell what you think Hiawatha could see and 
hear f rom his home. 

c. Describe the little hunter as he looked when he 
went proudly into the forest. 

16. Written Exercises. 

a. Find five English words in the selection that 
you do not know. Learn their meanings in this 
selection. 


20 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


b. Using “At the Door on Summer Evenings ” as 
a subject or title , write a group of two or three sen¬ 
tences telling what you see and hear at your door 
on summer evenings. 

c. Draw the picture suggested to your mind by 
the three lines beginning y “Forth into the forest 

d. Copy the following: 

How surely the birds know their enemies ! See how the 
wrens and robins and bluebirds pursue and scold the cat, 
while they take little or no notice of the dog! Even the 
swallow will light the cat, and sometimes swoops down so 
near to its enemy that it is caught by a sudden stroke of the 
cat’s paw.— John Burroughs. 

e. Copy and learn by heart the following sen¬ 
tences: 

(1) There is no royal road to learning. 

(2) Down in the green and shady bed 

A modest violet grew. • 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

The world is so full of a number of things, 

I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings. 

—Robert Louis Stevenson. 

II. 

Bees don’t care about the snow; 

I can tell you why that’s so : 

Once I caught a little bee 

Who was much too warm for me ! 

—Frank Dempster Sherman. 


THE TELLING OF IDEAS 


21 



Little brown brother, oh ! little brown 
brother, 


Are you awake in the dark? 

Here we lie cozily, close to each other : 

Hark to the song of the lark— 

“Waken ! ” the lark says, “waken and dress you; 

Put on your green coats and gay; 

Blue sky will shine on you, sunshine caress you— 
Waken ! ’tis morning—’tis May ! ” 


Little brown brother, oh ! little brown brother, 
What kind of flower will you be? 

I’ll be a poppy—all white, like my mother; 

Do be a poppy like me. 

What! you’re a sunflower? Howl shall miss 
you 

When you’re grown golden and high ! 

But I shall send all the bees up to kiss you; 

Little brown brother, good-bye. 

—Elizabeth Nesbit . 





22 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


17. Interpretation. 

In what sort of place were the little brown 
brothers lying? How could it be called cozy? 

How did the poppy and sunflower seeds come 
to be lying close together in the dark ? What 
seeds have you seen coming up together? 

What is meant by “ Put on your green coats 
and gay ” ? 

Why did the poppy seed say “good-bye”? 


18. Oral Exercise. 

Tell wlmt you can about How Seeds Grow. 

19. Written Exercises. 

a. Using the first Memory Gem on page 20 as a 
title, write three sentences telling about some of the 
things in May that you enjoy. 

1). Copy at home something about spring that 
you like. Bring it to school and read it aloud, 
c. Copy and learn the following sentences ‘ 

(1) A soft answer turneth away wrath. 

(2) A wise son maketh a glad father. 

(3) There’s nothing so kingly as kindness, 

And nothing so royal as truth. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

I’d laugh to-day, to-day. is brief, 

I would not wail for anything ; 

I’d use to-day that cannot last, 

Be glad to-day and sing.— r Christina G. Rossetti. 


PICTURE, SIGN, AND SOUND WRITING 


23 


II. 

Hearts, like doors, will ope with ease 
To very, very little keys ; 

And don’t forget that two of these 

Are : ‘‘Thank you, sir,” and, “If you please.” 

III. 

“ There is none like to me ! ” says the Cub, in the pride of 
his earliest kill; 

But the Jungle is large and the Cub he is small. Let him 
think and be still .—Rudyard Kipling. 

Section VIII. HOW LANGUAGE] IS WRITTEN. 

Men used words, or tongue sounds, as signs of 
ideas long before they found a way to write lan¬ 
guage down. How could they write a sound ? 
This* was a hard problem, and thousands of 
years passed before it was solved. Did you ever 
think what a hard thing it would be for a savage 
to put a sound on paper? 

20. Conversation. 

Suppose I whistle long and low. How will 
you put that down on paper so as to keep a 
record of it ? Probably the sim¬ 
plest way would be to try to 
make a picture of a man whis¬ 
tling ; and this drawing shows the 
way in which a Dacotah Indian 
tried to write the word “whistle/’ 
A savage, you observe, in 
his effort to write down the 



24 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


idea in his mind, attempted to make a picture of 
it. This is the oldest kind of writing and is called 

Picture-writing. 

Would you like to see some more Indian 
picture-writing? Well, this is the way an 
Indian named “ Turtle-following-his-Wife,” who 
lived in Indian Territory, wrote a letter to his 
son called “ Little Man,” who lived in Dacotah. 



The letter was drawn on a half sheet of ordi¬ 
nary writing paper, without a word written. It 
meant “Turtle-following-his-Wife says to Little 
Man, ‘ Come to me/ I send fifty-three dollars.” 



PICTURE, SIGN, AND SOUND WRITING 25 

Can you see how it meant that? Little 
Man understood it, got the money from the 
agent, and went to his father. 

The Chinese have another way of trying to 
write down ideas. This, for example, 
is their way of writing “ sugar.” You 
see it is not a picture, but a mere sign 
which stands for the idea. The trouble 
with this method of writing is that it requires a 
different sign for each separate idea; and in fact 
Chinese writing uses more than 30,000 different 
marks or signs. Think of having to learn to 
make 30,000 different signs of ideas ! 

It is time now to take up our own method of 
writing down ideas. Having seen the clumsi¬ 
ness of the Indian and Chinese attempts, you can 
appreciate the cleverness of the system we use. 

This system was invented thousands of years 
a g°, probably in Egypt. It is very simple when 
we know how to do it; but in some parts of the 
world people have not yet learned it. 

If you ever stopped to count, you would find 
that all our words, or tongue sounds for ideas, 
taken together contain only forty-three distinct 
sounds. By representing these forty-three sounds 
by little marks, called Letters, we can put any 
word or tongue sound in our language on paper. 
And here you have one of the greatest inven¬ 
tions ever made. It has done more for the 
human race than any other single thing. 



26 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


21. Oral Exercises 

a. Describe the way in which an Indian tried to 
write the word “ whistle 

b. Describe in your own words the way in which 
an Indian tried to write a letter. 

c. Explain in your own words the Chinese way 
of writing down ideas. 

d. Make the sound that is represented by each of 
the following letters:. 



Vowels. 



a (as in skate) 

I (as in ice) 

u 

(as in up) 

a (as in am) 

i (as in ill) 

do 

(as in food) 

a (as in all) 

o (as in old) 

do 

(as in foot) 

e (as in eve) 

o (as in odd) 

oi 

(as in oil) 

e (as in net) 

u (as in use) 

ou 

(as in out) 


Consonants. 



b d f 

g h j k 1 m 

n 

P 

q r s 

t V W X z 




22 

a. Try to express 
own the following things 

The sound of a bell 

A flash of lightning 

Water 

Sugar 

Salt 


picture-writing of your 

i 

A rap on the door 
The smell of smoke 
The air 
Strength 
Tardiness 


1 To the Teacher. —Part of this exercise has purposely been made very diffi¬ 
cult, perhaps impossible, in order to show the limitations of picture-writing. 


Written Exercises. 

in 



PICTURE, SIGN, AND SOUND WRITING 


27 


b. Copy and learn by heart the following sen¬ 
tences : 

(1) There are no gains without pains .—Benjamin 
Franklin. 

(2) They that govern most make least noise .—John 
Selden. 

(3) Nature teaches beasts to know their friends.— Wil¬ 
liam Shakespeare. 

Memory Gem. 

In vain we call old notions fudge. 

And bend our conscience to our dealing; 

The Ten Commandments will not budge, 

And stealing will continue stealing. 

—James Russell Lowell. 


Section IX. DITURATURU STUDY. 

The following selection from Longfellows 
“The Song of Hiawatha” tells how Hiawatha 
taught his people to write down ideas. 

Head th is poem caref idly: 

Hiawatha’s Picture-writing. 

In those days said Hiawatha, 

“ Lo ! how all things fade and perish! 

From the memory of the old men 
Pass away the great traditions. 

The achievements of the warriors, 

The adventures of the hunters. 

“ Great men die and are forgotten, 

Wise men speak ; their words of wisdom 
Perish in the ears that hear them, 


28 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Do not reach the generations 
That, as yet unborn, are waiting 
In the great, mysterious darkness. 



PICTURE WRITING. 


“ On the grave-posts of our fathers 
Are no signs, no figures painted; 

Who are in those graves we know not, 
Only know they are our fathers. 


29 


PICTURE, SIGN, AND SOUND WRITING 

“ Face to face we speak together, 

But we cannot speak when absent, 

Cannot send our voices from us 
To the friends that dwell afar off.” 

Thus said Hiawatha, walking 
In the solitary forest, 

Pondering, musing in the forest, 

■ On the welfare of his people. 

From his pouch he took his colors, 

Took his paints of different colors, 

On the smooth bark of a birch-tree 
Painted many shapes and figures, 

Wonderful and mystic figures, 

And each figure had a meaning, 

Each some word or thought suggested. 

For the earth he drew a straight line, 

For the sky a bow above it; 

White the space between for daytime, 

Filled with little stars the night time; 

On the left a point for sunrise, 

On the right a point for sunset, 

On the top a point for noontide, 

And for rain or cloudy weather 
Waving lines descending from it. 

' 23. Interpretation. 

In this selection find, if you can, four reasons 
why Hiawatha wanted his people to know how 
to write down ideas. 

What is a tradition? What is a generation? 
What did Hiawatha use for a pen or pencil? 
What did he use for ink? What did he write on? 


30 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


How dicl he write “the earth”? How did he 
write “the sky”? How did he picture “daytime”? 
How did he draw “night time”? How did he rep¬ 
resent “sunrise”? How did he write “sunset”? 
“noontide”? How did he picture “rain” and 
“cloudy weather”? 

24. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell in your own words Hiawatha's reasons 
for picture-writing. 

b. Describe Hiaivatha's writing materials. 

c. Describe some of his symbols. 

d. Describe as fully as you can the material 
which we use in writing. 


25. Written Exercises. 


a. Write 
wrote them : 

the following 

ideas as 

Hiawatha 

the earth 

daytime 

sunrise 

noontide 

the sky 

night time 

sunset 

rain 


b. Copy and learn by heart the following sen¬ 
tences : 

(1) God helps those who help themselves.— Algernon 
Sidney. 

(2) People who live in glass houses should not throw 
stones. 

(3) The moon, that once was round and full, 

Is now a silver boat. 


PICTURE, SIGN, AND SOUND WRITING 


31 


SUMMARY OF INTRODUCTION. 

A picture in the mind is called a Mental Pic¬ 
ture. 

Mental pictures are for short called Ideas. 

We tell our ideas by means of Tongue Sounds. 

A tongue sound used to indicate an idea is called 
a Word. 

Words are written by representing their different 
sounds by little signs called Letters. 


SUPPLEMENTARY WORK. 

2G. Oral Exercises. 

a. Describe some animal that you often see , 
telling what it looks like , how it passes the time , 
and anything else you can tell about it that is 
interesting. 

b. Describe the house or street in which you live , 
telling the things about it that interest you most. 

c. Tell how you spent the last holiday , narrating 
especially the things you did that pleased or inter¬ 
ested you. 

d. Explain how some indoor game that you like 
is played. Try to make your 'explanation clear 
and interesting. 

e. Give the reasons why you like winter better 
than summer , or summer better than winter. 

f Look carefully out of the window for a 
minute or two; then describe the different things 


32 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


you saw, telling tlicir size, color, shape, position, 
and anything else you wish. 

g. Describe the picture brought before your mind 
by the words “ at recess ” 

h. Tell why you think it would be worse to be 
blind than to be deaf, or, why you think it would 
be worse to be deaf than to be blind. * 

i. Which of the following words apply best to 
(1) the flight of birds / (£) trees in motion / ( S ) the 
sound of a brook; (4) the ringing of a bell? 

bend swoop peal 

sway babble circle 

flutter twist chatter 

j. Dead the following story, and then tell it in 
your own words: 

The Frog and the Ox. 

“Oh, father,” said a little frog to a big frog, sitting by the 
side of a pool, “ I have seen such a terrible monster! It 
was as big as a mountain, with horns on its head. It had a 
long tail and hoofs divided in two.” 

“ Tush, child, tush,” said the old frog, “ that was only 
Farmer White’s ox. I can easily make myself as big; just 
you see.” And he blew himself out. “Was he as big as 
that ? ” he asked. “ Oh, much bigger than that,” said the 
young frog. 

Again the old frog blew himself out, and asked the young 
one if the ox was as big. “Bigger, father,” was the reply, 
“ much bigger.” 

Then the frog took a deep breath, and blew and swelled, 
and swelled and blew,—until he burst! 


PICTURE, SIGN, AND SOUND WRITING 


33 

k. Find the picture you like best in this book. 
Tell its story. 

l. Describe something you, have made at home to 
give as a present. Tell lima you made it. 


27 . Written Hxercises. 


a. Use the words below in sentences that tell some¬ 
thing about Hiawatha: 


birch-tree 

timid 

leaped 

chattered 


hunter 

forest 

antlers 

haunches 


arrows 

ash-tree 

secrets 

rainbow 


b. Copy and learn by heart as many of the fol¬ 
lowing sentences as the teacher may direct: 


(1) Procrastination is the thief of time.— Edward Young. 

(2) Always take time to do your best. 

(3) It is better to wear out than to rust out .—Richard 
Henry Horne. 

(4) Can a leopard change his spots ? 

(5) Now came still evening on .—John Milton. 

(6) Man is the only animal that can talk. 

(7) The eye is called the window of the soul. 

(8) Love thy neighbor as thyself. 


c. Copy the following: 

Bees, like the milkman, like to be near a spring. They 
water their honey, especially in a dry time. The liquid is 
then of course thicker and sweeter, and will bear diluting. 
Hence, old bee-hunters look for bee-trees along creeks and 
near spring runs in the woods. -John Burroughs. 


34 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


d. Copy and learn by heart the following lines: 

All the long August afternoon 
The little drowsy stream 
Whispers a melancholy tune, 

As if it dreamed of June 
And whispered in its dream. 

— William Dean Ilowells. 

e. Copy the following: 

The life of birds is beset with dangers and mishaps of 
which we know little. One day, in my walk, I came upon 
a goldfinch with the tip of one wing securely fastened to 
the feathers of its rump, by what appeared to be the silk of 
some caterpillar. The bird, though uninjured, was com¬ 
pletely crippled, and could not fly a stroke. Its little body 
was hot and panting in my hands, as I carefully broke the 
fetter. Then it darted away with a happy cry.— John 
Burroughs. 

f Tell something interesting that you once saw 
in a walk. 

g. Tell what you can see from the window of 
your room at home. 

h. Draw the picture which is suggested to your 
mind by the following description: 

Beside him stood a big billy-goat harnessed to a two¬ 
wheeled cart made of a soap-box.— Frank HopkinsonSmith. 

28. Oral and Written Exercises. 

a. Give an account of a Fishing Excursion , 
arranging your thoughts in the following order: 

(1) Who were in the party. (3) The place. 

(2) The journey. (4) The fishing. 


PICTURE, SIGN, AND SOUND WRITING 


85 


b. Tell as many interesting things as you can 
about some dog that you know , arranging your 
thoughts as follows: 

(1) His kind. (4) His home. 

(2) His appearance. (5) His food. 

(3) His name. (6) His habits. 

c. Read the following true story, and then tell it 
in your own words: 

A tame fox that was kept in a stable-yard had managed 
to strike up a friendship with several of the dogs, and would 
play with them. But he could never induce the cats to 
approach him. Cats are very sensitive in their nostrils, and 
could not endure the odor of the fox. 

The fox soon learned that the cats would not come near 
him, and made use of his knowledge to cheat them of their 
breakfast. As soon as the servant poured out the cats’ 
allowance of milk, the fox would run to the spot and walk 
about the saucer, well knowing that the cats, the rightful 
owners, would not approach the defiled locality. Day after 
day the cats lost their milk, until the stratagem was dis¬ 
covered, and the milk was placed in a spot where it could 
not be reached by the fox. 

d. Write the story in your o wn words and give 
it a good title. 

e. Write a story about an animal you knoiv that 
played a clever trick on another animal or on some 
person. 

f. Talk with your teacher about your games. 
Write a group of sentences about your Favorite 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


36 

Game, telling wliat it is, when you play it, how it 
is played, with whom you play it, and anything 
else about it that you please . 


BOOK I 


LESSONS IN LANGUAGE AND 
LITERATURE 






















































































Chapter I 


The Writing of Names 


Section X. HOW NAMES OF PERSONS ARE 
WRITTEN. 

Copy the following sentences: 

1 S is for Sinbad, with the old man, his 

rider. 

2 T is for Tom Thumb, who was killed by 

a spider. 

3 The first steamboat was built by Robert 
Fulton. 

4 The poem about Hiawatha was written 
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 


29. Conversation. 

How many persons are mentioned in these 
sentences? How many words are in the name 
of each ? With what kind of letter does each 
word in each name begin ? 

Each word in the name of a person should be¬ 
gin with a capital. 


40 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


30. Oral Exercise. 

Tell your classmates about so7ne interesting per¬ 
son you Juwe heard of. If they already know 
about the person, let them help you to tell the things 
that make him or her interesting. 


31. Written Exercises. 

a. Write the full names of the following persons : 

(1) Yourself. (4) Three of your friends. 

(2) Your father. (5) Your teacher. 

(3) Your brothers and sisters. (6) The author of “ Rah.” 

b. Write five sentences in which you use the full 
\names of persons. 

c. Write a story about some person. 


Memory Gems. 

I. 

The man that hails you Tom or Jack, 

And proves, by thumping on your back, 

His sense of your great merit, 

Is such a friend that one had need 
Be very much his friend indeed 

To pardon or to bear it.— William Cowper. 

II. 

The inner side of every cloud is bright and shining ; 
I therefore turn my clouds about, 

And always wear them inside out 
To show the lining. 


THE WRITING OE NAMES 


41 


Section Xr. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Head, this poem, aloud and tell your classmates 
what you woidd have done had you had the naming 
of the baby sister: 

Choosing a Name. 

I have got a new-born sister ; 

I was nigh the first that kissed her. 

When the nursing woman brought her 
To papa, his infant daughter, 

How papa’s dear eyes did glisten !— 

She will shortly be to christen ; 

And papa has made the offer 
I shall have the naming of her. 

Now I wonder what would please her,— 
Charlotte, Julia, or Louisa? 

Ann and Mary, they’re too common; 

Joan’s too formal for a woman; 

Jane’s a prettier name beside, 

But we had a Jane that died. 

They would say, if ’twas Rebecca, 

That she was a little Quaker. 

Edith’s pretty, but that looks 
Better in old English books; 

Ellen’s left off long ago ; 

Blanche is out of fashion now. 

None that I have named as yet 
Are so good as Margaret. 

Emily is neat and fine; 

What do you think of Caroline ? 

How I’m puzzled and perplexed 
What to choose or think of next! 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



THE LITTLE SISTER 



THE WRITING OF NAMES 


43 


I am in a little fever 

Lest the name that I should give her 

Should disgrace her or defame her;— 

I will leave papa to name her. 

—Mary Lamb. 


Section XII. IIOW INITIALS ARE WRITTEN. 

Compare the following ivays of writing the same 
name: 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 
Henry W. Longfellow 
H. W. Longfellow 

You see that sometimes, instead of writing a 
person’s name in full, we prefer to shorten it by 
writing only the first letter of one or both of the 
first words in the name. 

The first letter of a word is called its Initial. 

In deciding whether to use initials or not, it is 
well to follow the custom of the owner of the 
name—that is, to write a name as the owner 
writes it. 

When an initial is used instead of a name, it 
should be written as a capital, and be followed 
by a period. 

32. Written Exercises. 

a. Write the following names , using the initial 
instead of the middle word:. 

Charles Francis Adams, John Greenleaf Whittier, William 
Tecumseh Sherman. 


44 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


b. Write the following names, using initials for 
all but the last word: 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 
James Russell Lowell. 

c. Write your own name , using initials for one 
or two of the words. 

d. Write the names of six persons you know, 
using initials for one or two of the words in each 
name. 

e. Copy the following sentences: 

(1) What poem in this book was written by R. L. Steven¬ 
son ? 

(2) The tomb of General U. S. Grant is in New York. 

(3) In the name W. C. Redfield, C stands for Con¬ 
venience. 

(4) The Story of a Bad Boy was written by T. B. Aldrich. 

(5) H. H. stands for Helen Hunt Jackson, who wrote 
the poem, “ October’s Bright Blue Weather.” 

Memory Gems. ' 

I. 

What’s in a name ? That which we call a rose, 

By any other name would smell as sweet. 

— William Shakespeare. 

II. 

Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing; 
’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands. 

But he that filches from me my good name 
Robs me of that which not enriches him, 

And makes me poor indeed.— William Shakespeare. 




THE WRITING OF NAMES 45 



Section XIII. LITERATURE STUT>Y. 

Read the following story: 

A Story of Washington. 

During the Revolutionary War, the corporal of a little 
band of soldiers was giving orders about a heavy beam which 
they were trying to raise to the top of a wall. It was 
almost too heavy for them, and the voice of the corporal 
was often heard shouting, “ Heave away! There it goes! 
Heave ho ! ” 

A man in citizen’s clothes was passing, and asked the 
corporal why he did not help the men. Very much aston- 











4G 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


ished, the corporal replied, with the pomp of an emperor, 
“ Sir, I am a corporal ! ” 

‘‘You are, are you f ” replied the officer; “I was not 
aware of that; ” and taking off his hat he bowed, saying, “ I 
ask your pardon, Mr. Corporal.” 

Upon this he put his shoulder to the beam and pulled 
until the sweat stood on his forehead. When the beam was 
right, he turned to the corporal, saying, “ Mr. Corporal, 
when you have another such job and have not men enough, 
send for your commander-in-chief, and I shall gladly come 
to help you a second time.” 

The corporal was thunderstruck. It was Washington. 

33. Oral Exercise. 

Tell this story in your own words , giving it a 
better title if you can . 

34. Written Exercises. 

Write complete sentences of your own which 
tell - " ' 

Who was giving orders, and what they were about ; what 
part the corporal was taking in the work ; who came along ; 
what the newcomer said; how the corporal replied ; what 
the stranger did ; what he said as he went away ; and who 
he was. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 

9 And departing, leave behind us 

Footprints on the sands of time. 

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

II. 

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


4? 


Section XIV. IIO\V r TITLES ARE WRITTEN. 

It your grocer’s name were Bartlett and you 
were to go to his store for coffee, would you call 
him “Bartlett”? What would you call him? 
What would he think of you if you called him 
by his plain name ? 

It his wife’s name were Mary, would you speak 
of her as “ Mary Bartlett ” ? What would you 
call her ? 

A term of respect or courtesy added to a name 
is called a Title. 

The title sounded “mis-ter” is always written 

Mr. 

The title sounded “mis-ez” is always written 

Mrs. 

Mr. is used before the name of a man. Ex¬ 
ample : Mr. Edward G. Coy. 

Mrs. is used before the name of a married 
woman. Example: Mrs. Edwin J. McKee. 

The proper title for a boy who is too young 
to be called Mr. is Master. Example : Master 
Horace Newton. 

The title for a girl or woman who is un¬ 
married is Miss. Example : Miss Helen Gould 
The proper title for a physician is Doctor. 
The written abbreviation of Doctor is Dr. Ex¬ 
ample : Dr. Edward J. Ill. 0 

The proper title for a clergyman is Reverend. 
In writing, Reverend is usually abbreviated into 
Rev. Example: Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. 


48 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


If a father and his son have the same name, 
Jr, is written after the son’s' name. This is an 
abbreviation for Junior, “younger.” Example: 
Charles H. Welles, Jr. 

Every title added to a name should begin with 
a capital letter. 

If a title is abbreviated, it should be followed 
by a period. 

35. Oral Exercise. 

Read the following story, and then tell it in your 
own words: 

A young American who had broken an appointment with 
Dr. Franklin, came to him the following day prepared to 
make his peace with an apology. He was making a tire¬ 
some excuse when Dr. Franklin stopped him, saying, “My 
dear boy, say no more. You have, indeed, said too much 
already. E^or he who is good at making an excuse, is sel¬ 
dom good at anything else.” 

36. Written Exercises. 

a. Using the proper title, write the names of the 
following persons: 

(1) Yourself. (5) Your mother. 

(2) Your father. (6) Your teacher. 

(3) A girl whom you know. (7) A boy whom you know. 

(4) A clergyman whom you (8) A physician whom you 

know. know. 

h. Copy or write from dictation the following : 

The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Doctor 
Quiet, and Doctor Merryman .—Dean Swift. 


THE WRITING OB' NAMES 


49 


c. Write in your own words the story of I)r. 
Franklin. 

d. Write the titles of as many famous men as 
yon can recall . 

Memory Gem. 

The heights by great men reached and kept 
Were not attained by sudden flight, 

But they while their companions slept 
Were toiling upward in the night. 

—Henry Wadsworth hong fellow. 


Section XT. LITERATURE STUDY. 

A Flood in the Chimney. 

There having been a heavy rain yesterday, a nest of 
chimney swallows was washed down the chimney into the 
fireplace of one of the front rooms. My attention was called 
to them by most obstreperous twitterings, and looking 
behind the fireboard, I discovered three young birds cling¬ 
ing with their feet against the jambs, looking at me open- 
mouthed and all clamoring together so as quite to fill the 
room with the short, eager, frightened sounds. The old 
birds, by certain signs upon the floor of the room, appeared 
to have fallen victims to the appetite of the cat. 

The maid provided a basket with cotton wool, into which 
the poor little babies were put, and I tried to feed them 
with soaked bread, of which, however, they did not eat with 
much relish. I hung the basket out of the window in the 
sunshine, and upon looking in, an hour after, found that 
two of the birds had escaped. The other was much injured, 
and I was not sorry when it died. They were so well 
grown that they might, I suppose, have been able to shift 
for themselves .—Nathaniel Hawthorne. 


50 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


37. Interpretation. 

Observe in what an easy and delightful way 
Hawthorne relates common, everyday occur¬ 
rences so that they are interesting. The charm 
lies in the simplicity and feeling of the narrative. 

What drew Hawthornes attention to the 
disaster in the chimney? What is the meaning 
o f obstrepet vus ? 

What words suggest most vividly the fright of 
the young birds-? 

Why do you think the author did not tell 
what the “ certain signs on the floor” were? 

How did the maid try to build a new nest for 
the birds ? 

What does this sketch show you about Haw¬ 
thorne ? 


3S. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell the story in your own words. 

b. If yon ever knew an accident to happen to 
birds or animals , tell yonr classmates about it in as 
interesting a way as yon can . 


39. Written Exercises. 

a. Write sentences of your own which tell — 

What happened in the chimney; how Hawthorne learned 
of it ; what he saw when he looked ; what he heard; what 
became of the old birds ; how the maid tried to make a new 
nest; hoW the young birds were fed ; what became of them. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


51 


b. Imagine yourself one of the young birds that 
fleio away , and tell the story of what happened as 
it would seem to the bird. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

How beautiful is the rain ! 

After the dust and heat 
In the broad and fiery street, 

In the narrow lane— 

How beautiful is the rain ! 

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

II. 

Chippy, Chippy, Chirio, 

Chippy, Chippy, Chirio, 

Not a man in Dario, 

Can catch a Chippy, Chippy, Chirio. 

—John Burroughs. 

Section XVI. IIOW I AND O ARE WRITTEN". 

Copy the following rhymes : 

I. 

I would if I could ; if I couldn’t, how could I ? 

I couldn’t unless I could, could I ? 

II. 

“ Old woman, old woman, old woman,” quoth I, 

“O whither, O whither, O whither, so high ? ” 

With what kind ofletters are the words /and 
0 written? 

The words I and 0 should always be written 
with capital letters. 


52 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


40. Oral Exercise. 

Imagine yourself a penny. Tell your adventures 
for a day or a week, mentioning where you went , 
what you saw , what you did\ and lunv you felt. 


41. Written Exercises. 

a. Write the Oral Exercise, 
h Learn one of the following poems / then write 
it front memory: 

O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the east: 

Shine, be increased ; 

O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the west: 

Wane, be at rest.— Christina G. Rossetti. 

In winter, I get up at night 
And dress by yellow candle light; 

In summer, quite the other way, 

I have to go to bed by day. * 

And does it not seem strange to you,' 

When all the sky is clear and blue, 

And I should like so much to play, 

To have to go to bed by day ? 

—Robert Louis Stevenson . 


Buttercups. 

The buttercups with shining face 
Smile upward as I pass. 

They seem to lighten all the place 
'Like sunshine in the grass. 

And though not glad nor gay was I, 
When first they came in view; 

I find when I have passed them by. 
That I am smiling too.— S. J. Ray. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


53 



Section XVII. 
LITERATURE STUDY. 

Study the following poem 
so as to he able to read it 
aloud to the class: 1 

When the Little Boy Ran Away. 


When the little boyran awayfrom home, 
The birds in the tree top knew, 

And they all sang, “ Stay ! ” but he 
wandered away 
Under the skies of blue. 

And the wind came whispering from the tree, 

“ Follow me, follow me ! ” 

And it sang him a song that was soft and sweet 
And scattered the roses before his feet 
That day, that day 
When the little boy ran away. 

1 To the Teacher .—The children will delight in the dramatic quality of this 
poem, especially if the teacher is a sympathetic reader. Give the dramatic in¬ 
stinct, inherent in all children, free play as they read the poem aloud. 











54 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


The violets whispered, “Your eyes are blue 
And lovely and bright to see, 

And so are mine, and I’m kin to you, 

So dwell in the light with me,” 

But the little boy laughed, while the wind in glee 
Sang, “ Follow me, follow me!” 

And the wind called the clouds from their home in the skies 
And said to the violet, “Shut your eyes ! ” 

That day, that day 

When the little boy ran away. 


Then the wind played leapfrog over the hills 
And twisted each leaf and limb ; 

And all the rivers and all the rills 
Were foaming mad with him. 

And ’twas dark as the darkest night could be, 

But still came the wind’s voice, “Follow me ! ” 
And over the mountain and up from the hollow 
Came echoing voices with, “ Follow him, follow!" 
That awful day, 

When the little boy ran away. 


Then the little boy cried, “ Let me go, let me go! " 
For a scared, scared boy was he. 

But the thunder growled from a black cloud, “ No !" 

And the wind roared, “ Follow me ! ” 

And an old gray owl from a tree top flew, 

Saying: “Who are you-oo? Who are you-oo?" 

And the little boy sobbed, “ I’m lost away, 

And I want to go home where my parents stay." 

O, the awful day 

When the little boy ran away ! 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


55 


Then the moon looked out from a cloud and said: 

“ Are you sorry you ran away ? 

If I light you home to your trundle bed, 

Will you stay, little boy, will you stay? ” 

And the little boy promised—and cried and cried— 

He never would leave his mother’s side, 

And the moonlight led him over the plain; 

And his mother welcomed him home again. 

But, O, what a day 

When the little boy ran away !— Ayionymous . 

42. Interpretation. 

What part did the wind play in this lit¬ 
tle boy’s day ? the violet ? the moon ? the 
birds ? 

What were the things that made the little boy 
wish to run away ? 

What were the things that made him wish to 
return home ? 

Which words best imitate the sound of the 
things they describe ? 

Which lines do you like best ? 

43. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell in your own words the story of the little 
boy who ran away. 

b. Tell a story about one of the following sub¬ 
jects : 

3. The moon. 

4. An owl. 


1. The wind. 

2. The violets. 


56 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


44. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the lines in “ W hen the Little Boy Ban 
A way ” that you like best , and draw a picture of 
what they suggest to you. 

b. Write a story of how some one you know ran 
away from home. Put some pretty pictures into 
your story and group your thoughts into one or 
t wo paragraphs. 

c. Copy and learn by heart the following verses: 

The alder by the river 

Shakes out her powdery curls; 

The willow buds in silver 
For little boys and girls. 

The little birds fly over— 

And oh, how sweet they sing !* 

To tell the happy children 
That once again ’tis spring. 

— Celia Thaxter . 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

Who aimeth at the sky, 

Shoots higher much than he who means a tree. 

— George Herbert. 


II. 

I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o’er vales and hills, 
When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host, of golden daffodils; 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

— William Wordsworth. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 57 

Section XVIII. HOW NAMES OF PLACES ARE 
WKITTEX. 

Read the following sentences : 

1. Mr. Cleveland called his summer home 
Gray Gables. 

2. Yale University is at New Haven. 

3. Mr. Carlisle lives on Seventh Street. 

4. The capital of Tennessee is Nashville. 

5. Shakespeare lived in England. 

6. The highest mountain in North America is 
Mt. W ran gel. 

How many names of places can you count in 
these sentences? 

With what kind of letter does each begin? 

Names of places should begin with a capital 
letter. 

The words Street , Avenue , and County are 
sometimes shortened or abbreviated in writing, 
the abbreviation being marked as usual by a 

period ; as, S t.=Street 

Ave.=A venue 
Co.=County 

Usually it is better to write these words in full. 
45. Oral Exercise. 

Describe for your teacher the pleasantest place 
you have visited. 


58 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


46. Written Exercises. 

a. Write sentences answering the following ques¬ 
tions : 

(1) On what river is St. Louis? 

(2) Where did the Pilgrim Fathers land ? 

(3) Which continent is the largest? 

(4) What city would you most like to visit ? 

(5) In what state do you live ? 

(6) On what street is the schoolhouse ? 

(7) What is the highest mountain or hill that you have 
seen ? 

(8) What is the largest body of water you have seen ? 

b. Describe a brook , a river , or a lake as seen 
from some high and distant place . 

c. Describe the same brook, or river , or lake as 
seen from its bank or shore , trying to use some 
words that imitate by their sound the thing they 
stand for. 

d. Write a paragraph about the street on which 
you live , trying to use words that by their sound 
imitate the thing they stand for. 

e. Write the Oral Exercise. 


Memory Gems. 

I. 

The river sloped 

To plunge in cataract, shattering on black blocks 
A breadth of thunder. —Alfred Tennyson. 

II. 

The sobered robin, hunger-silent now, 

Seeks cedar-berries blue, his autumn cheer. 

—James liussell Lowell. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


59 


Section XIX, LITERATURE STUDY. 


The followine extract is from the “ Second 
Jungle Book.” This and the “First Jungle Book ” 
are two of the best animal books ever written. 










GO 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Wash daily from nose-tip to tail-tip ; drink deeply but never 
too deep ; 

And remember the night is for hunting, and forget not the 
day is for sleep. 

The Jackal may follow the Tiger, but, Cub, when thy 
whiskers are grown, 

Remember the Wolf is a hunter—go forth and get food of 
thine own. 

When Pack meets with Pack in the Jungle, and neither will 
go from the trail, 

Lie down till the leaders have spoken—it may be fair words 
shall prevail. 


Now these are the Laws of the Jungle, and many and 
mighty are they; 

But the head and the hoof of the Law, and the haunch and 
the hump is—Obey ! —Rudyard Kipling. 


47 . Interpretation. 

Do you think these are sensible laws for wild 
animals ? Which of them would be wise for you 
and me to follow ? Which of them would not 
be good for us ? 

What does the third stanza mean ? 

Can you think of an instance where it would 
be a good thing for boys and girls to obey the 
law in the fourth stanza ? Do you know of any 
quarrels or difficulties that have been settled by 
following this advice? 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


61 


Which of the laws would be a eood motto for 
a soldier ? Would it be as good for a boy or a 
girl? for a class? Choose the best writer in 
your class to put it on the blackboard. 

4S. Oral Exercise. 

Tell what you hiow about Wolves. Arrange 
your thoughts in the following order: 

(1) Where they live. 

(2) Appearance. 

(3) How they live: dwellings, food, etc. 

(4) Character, as shown in their actions to animals and 
man. Tell a story you have heard or read to illustrate this. 

40. Written Exercise. 

Write the Oral Exercise in four paragraphs. 
Do not begin with the word “ wolves .” Try to 
make your first sentence very interesting to your 
readers. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

June! June! June! 

Low croon 

The brown bees in the clover 

Sweet! Sweet! Sweet! 

Repeat 

The robins, nested over .—Avis Gray. 

II. 

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and 
he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. 


62 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section XX. HOW NAMES OF MONTHS ARE 
WRITTEN. 


Copy the following Urns, and commit them to 
memory: 

Thirty days hath September, 

April, June, and November; 

All the rest have thirty-one, 

Excepting February alone, 

Which hath but twenty-eight in fine, 

Till Leap-year gives it twenty-nine. 


Which words are names of months ? With 
what kind of letter does each begin ? 

Names of Months should always begin with 
a capital letter. 


50. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell your classmates which three 'months you 
like best , and why you like them. 

h. Name as many winter sports and summer 
sports as you can , and tell in which months they 
are played. 

c. Read aloud the following lines , and tell which 
month they describe best: 

The mellow year is hasting to its close ; 

The little birds have almost sung their last, 

Their small notes twitter in the dreary blast— 
That shrill-piped harbinger of early snows. 

—Hartley Coleridge . 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


63 


5 1. Written Exercises. 

a. Write in order the names of the summer and 
winter months , telling the number of days in each. 
Vary your form of expression as in the following 
models: 

January has- days. 

Or, 

In January there are -days. 

b. Write sentences answering the following ques¬ 
tions. Vary your expressions as in the models: 

In-the days are longest. 

Or, 

-brings us the longest days. 

(1) In which month are the nights longest? 

(2) In which month does St. Valentine’s Day come? 
Independence Day? Washington’s Birthday? 

c. Copy or write from dictation the following: 

(1) February makes a bridge, and March breaks it.— 
George Herbert. 

(2) Oh, the lovely fickleness of an April day !— William 
Hamilton Gibson. 

(3) Winter lingering chills the lap of May.— Goldsmith. 

d. Copy or write from dictation the following: 

The October day is a dream, bright and beautiful as the 
rainbow, and as brief and fugitive. The same clouds and 
the same sun may be with us on the morrow, but the rain¬ 
bow will have gone. There is a destroyer that goes abroad 
by night. He fastens upon every leaf, and freezes out its 
last drop of life, and leaves it on the parent stem, pale, 
withered, and dying.— William Hamilton Gibson. 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


64 


e. Copy the Memory Gem below which pleases 
you most: 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

A leafy May and a warm June, 

Bring on a harvest very soon. 

II. 

O what is so rare as a clay in June ! 

Then, if ever, come perfect days. 

—James Bussell Lowell. 


III. 

The stormy March is come at last, 

With wind, and cloud, and changing skies; 

I hear the rushing of the blast, 

That through the snowy valley flies. 

— William Cullen Bryant . 

IV. 

Ah, March ! we know thou art 
Kind-hearted, spite of ugly looks and threats, 

And, out of sight, art nursing April’s violets. 

—Helen Hunt Jackson. 


V. 

When April winds 

Grew soft, the maple burst into a flush 
Of scarlet flowers. The tulip-tree, high up, 
Opened, in airs of June, her multitude 
Of golden chalices to humming birds 
And silken wing’d insects of the sky. 

— William Cullen Bryant. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


65 









- *. ' ‘ sill!! 

. -_ ±s. __«=ii___ u. . ■ - .-t- ™ . 

row “ 1’astoral Days. ”— Copyright, l8s0, by Harper & Brothers. 


Section XXI. 
LITERATURE STUDY. 

Read the following poem : 

October’s Bright Blue 
Weather. 

O sun and skies and clouds of 
J une. 

And flowers of June together, 

Ye cannot rival for one hour 
October’s bright blue weather. 



















66 MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 

When loud the bumble-bee makes haste, 

Belated, thriftless vagrant, 

And goldenrod is dying fast, 

And lanes with grapes are fragrant; 

When gentians roll their fringes tight 
To save them for the morning, 

And chestnuts fall from satin burrs 
Without a word of warning ; 

When on the ground red apples lie 
In piles like jewels shining, 

And redder still on old stone walls 
Are leaves of woodbine twining; 

When all the lovely wayside things 
Their white-winged seeds are sowing, 

And in the fields, still fair and green, 

Late aftermaths are growing ; 

When springs run low, and on the brook, 

In idle golden freighting, 

Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush 
Of woods, for winter waiting ; 

O sun and skies and flowers of June, 

Count all your boasts together, 

Love loveth best of all the year 
October’s bright blue weather. 

— Helen Hunt Jackson. 

52. Interpretation. 

What months does the poet compare? Which 
does she prefer? 

What beautiful things of June does she 
mention ? 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 67 

Read the lines which call up pretty pictures 
to you. Which do you like best? If you were 
an artist, which would you choose to paint a pic¬ 
ture about ? What colors would you have to 
use? 

Explain what is meant by satin burrs / late 
aftermaths ; thriftless vagrant. 

What pleasant things of October are men¬ 
tioned in the poem? 

What are some of the “ lovely wayside things” 
that sow their white-winged seeds ? What 
sounds are called up to the mind by the poem? 

How is it that poets see so much beauty in 
common things ? Perhaps if we looked closer 
at things about us, we should see more beauty. 

Did you ever walk through the woods when 
they were hushed and waiting for winter? Tell 
about it. 

Do you agree with the poet that October is 
the best month of all the year ? . 

53. Oral Exercise. 

Imagine that you are one of the months. Tell 
how you are dressed , what you bring with you, how 
you speak, what you do, and how you make people 
feel. 

54. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the first two lines of the fifth stanza, and 
illustrate the lines by drawing pictures of some of 
the “ white-winged seeds ” you have seen. 


68 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


b. Express the thought of the first two lines of 
the fifth stanza 'without using the exact words of 
the poet. 

c. Copy or write from dictation the following 
selection: 

Those who are really awake to the sights and sounds 
which the procession of the months offers them, find end¬ 
less entertainment and instruction. Yet there are great 
multitudes who are present at as many as threescore and 
ten performances, without ever really looking at the scen¬ 
ery, or listening to the music, or observing the chief 
actors.— Other Wendell Holmes. 

d. Write the Oral Exercise. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

A noise like of a hidden brook 
In the leafy month of June, 

That to the sleeping woods all night 
Singeth a quiet tune. 

— Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 

II. 

In the parching August wind, 

Cornfields bow the head, 

Sheltered in round valley depths, 

On low hills outspread. 

— Christina G. Hossetti. 

III. 

When April steps aside for May, 

Like diamonds all the raindrops glisten; 

Fresh violets open every day: 

To some new bird each hour we listen. 

—Lucy Larcom. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


69 


IV. 

Close at hand the basket stood 
With nuts from brown October’s wood. 

—John Greenlecif Whittier . 

V. 

The sun that brief December day 
Rose cheerless over hills of gray, 

And, darkly circled, gave at noon 
A sadder light than waning moon. 

—John Greenlecif Whittier. 


Section XXII. HOW NAMES OF DAYS ARE 
WRITTEN. 

Copy the following lines: 

How pleasant is Saturday night, 

When I’ve tried all the week to be good, 

Not spoken a word that was bad, 

And obliged every one that I could. 

Which word is the name of a day? With 
what kind of letter does it begin? 

The names of the days of the week, like the 
names of months, should always begin with 
capital letters. 

55. Oral Exercise. 

Tell the story of what you did yesterday, or on 
the last holiday. Omit things that are not inter 
esting, hut do not simply say you got up in the 
morning , ate your breakfast , and worked or played. 
Tell the little things that kept you busy and happy , 
and thus make your story interesting. 


70 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


50. Written Exercises. 

a. Write a sentence about each of the days on 
which yon go to school. 

b. Write one or more sentences telling ivhat you 
would like to do best on the last day of this week. 

c. W? dte a group of sentences telling what you 
did on the first day of this week. 

d. Copy and learn by heart the following poem: 

To-Day. 

So here hath been dawning 
Another blue day ; 

Think, wilt thou let it 
Slip useless away ? 

Out of Eternity 

This new day is born ; 

Into Eternity, 

At night will return. 

Behold it aforetime 
No eye ever did ; 

So now it forever 
From all eyes is hid. 

Here hath been dawning 
Another blue day; 

Think, wilt thou let it 
Slip useless away ? 

— Thomas Carlyle. 


Memory Gem. 

To all, to each, a fair good night, 

And pleasing dreams, and slumbers light. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


71 


Section XXIII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Long ago a beautiful statue stood in one of 
the ancient Greek cities. Every trace of it has 
now disappeared, but a conversation between a 
traveler and the statue has been preserved. 

Opportunity. 

“ What is thy name, O statue ? ” 

“I am called Opportunity.” 

“ Who made thee ? ” 

“ Lysippus.” 

“ Why art thou on thy toes ? ” 

“To show that I stay but a moment.” 

“ Why hast thou wings on thy feet ? ” 

“To show how quickly I pass by.” 

“ But why is thy hair so long on thy forehead ? ” 

“ That men may seize me when they meet me.” 

“ Why, then, is thy head so bald behind? ” 

“To show that when I have once passed I cannot be 
caught.” 

57. Interpretation. 

Where in the city do you think this statue 
stood ? 

What lesson did Lysippus wish to teach the 
passer-by? 

Read aloud the poem “To-day” on page 112. 

Tell in what way the thought of the poet is 
like that of Lysippus. 

Tell to your classmates a proverb that ex¬ 
presses a similar thought. 

Which, of these ways of expressing this 
thought is to you the most beautiful? 


72 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


58. Written Exercise. 

Write a composition—that is, one or more 
paragraphs—about the statue . Tell — 


(1) Where it stood. 

(2) Who made it. 


(3) How it looked. 

(4) What its purpose was. 


Section XXIY. IIOW HATES ARE WRITTEN. 

Copy the following sentences: 

1 The battle of Manila Bay was fought on 
Sunday, the first day of May, in the year 1898. 

2 The battle of Manila Bay was fought 
Sunday, May 1, 1898. 

The day, month, and year when an event 
occurs are together called the Date of the event 

o 

In writing dates it is customary to use the 
form given in the second sentence. 

The day of the week is often omitted; thus: 

The battle of Manila Bay was fought May 1, 
1898. 

The name of the day of the week, the number 
of the day of the month, and the number of the 
year should be separated by commas. 

The longer names of months are sometimes 
abbreviated, the abbreviation being marked by a 
period, as follows: 

Jan.=January Sept.=September 

Feb.=February Oct.=October 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


73 


59. Oral Exercise. 


Tell about a i\ utting Trip , a Picnic , or a Skat¬ 
ing Party , arranging your thoughts in some such 


order as the following : 

(1) When 

(2) Kind of day 

(3) Companions 

(4) Place 


(5) Surroundings 

(6) Sports 

(7) Special incidents 

(8) Return 


60. Written Exercises. 


a. Copy the following sentences: 

(1) The first Independence Day was July 4, 1776. 

(2) President McKinley became President of the United 
States March 4, 1897. 

(3) The birthday of a great American comes on Feb¬ 
ruary 22. 

1). Write sentences giving the following dates : 

(1) To-day. (5) A winter holiday of last 

(2) The day of your birth. year. 

(3) The discovery of (6) The spring holiday this 


America. 

(4) The next autumn 
holidav. 


year. 

(7) The summer holiday 
next year. 


c. Write the Oral Exercise. 


Memory Gem. 


Count that day lost whose low descending sun 
Yiews from thy hand no worthy action done. 


— Stamford. 


74 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section XXY. LOST. 

Look at the frontispiece intently for a few 
minutes. What story does the artist have to 
tell you ? 

Do you think there is any chance that the 
sheep will live through the storm? What could 
happen to save them ? 

What are they trying to do? What do their 
faces tell you ? 

What do the faithful dogs seem to be saying?- 

Where is the shepherd ? 

How has the artist shown the fierceness of 
the storm? 

How has he made you feel the bitter cold? 
the sad plight of the lost sheep? 


61. Oral Exercise. 

Tell the story suggested hy the picture. Ar¬ 
range your thoughts in the folloiving order : 

(1) The sheep and their keepers. 

(2) How the furious storm overtook them. 

(3) How they lost their way. 


62. Written Exercise. 

Write the story called for in the Oral Exercise. 
Memory Gem. 

God made all the creatures and gave them our love and 
our fear, 

To give sign, we and they are His children, one family here. 

—Robert Browning. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 1. 

Each word in the Name of a Person should begin 
with a capital letter. 

When an Initial is used instead of a name, it 
should be written as a capital and be followed by a 
period. 

Every Title added to a name should begin with a 
capital letter. 

If a title is abbreviated, a period should be placed 
after it. 

The words I and O should always be written 
as capital letters. 

Names of Places should begin with capitals. 

Names of Months should begin with a capital 
letter. 

Names of Days should begin with a capital letter. 

The day, month, and year when an event occurs 
are together called the Date of the event. 

The day of the week, the day of the month, and 
the year should be separated by commas. 

SUPPLEMENTARY WORK. 

63. Oral Exercises. 

а. Give reasons for the use of capital letters in 
the following selections: 

1. The maple puts her corals on in May. 

2 . Mistress Mary, quite contrary, 

How does yovir garden grow ? 

3 . Till at length into Aix Roland galloped and stood. 

4 . Monday’s child is fair of face. 

5 . O, listen, listen, ladies gay! 

б . Queen Victoria loved to stay at Balmoral Castle. 


76 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


b. The following was written by a young girl 
in a school in New York. Can you guess what 
she had in mind ? 

I belong to a large family. Some of my brothers are tall 
and some are short, some large and some small. Some are 
very noisy, others talk more quietly. A great many of us 
were born in a foreign country, but w T e all have the same 
facial expression and speak the same language. You will 
think that I have very bad manners when I tell you that I 
always keep my hands before my face, and never remove 
them under any circumstance^. I am somewhat deformed, 
as one of my arms is longer than the other, but that does 
not hinder my usefulness. I am a person of great activity, 
always moving while standing still. You will find one or 
more of my family in every household. What am I ? 

c. Choose a dock, a plant, a picture, or something 
else in the room, and keep your choice a secret. 
Then describe the thing without naming it, and see 
if your classmates can tell what it is. Example: 

In marble walls as white as milk, 

Lined with skin as soft as silk; 

Within a fountain crystal clear, 

A golden apple doth appear. 

No doors there are to this stronghold— 

Yet thieves break in and steal the gold. 

(An Egg.) 

d. Let two persons in the class choose sides for a 
debate, and then discuss the following question: 

“ Is it pleasanter to live in the city than in the country? * 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 77 

e. Tell a story about one of the following sub¬ 
jects : 

(1) How a little boy helped a big one. ' 

(2) What the brook saw as it flowed toward the sea. 

(3) How to make a kite. 

(4) How to take care of house plants'. 

(5) How to care for a canary. 

f. Can you name this flower ? 

There is a flower, a little flower, 

With silver crest.and golden eye,* 

That welcomes every changing thour, 

And weathers every sky .—James Montgomery. 

g. Tell your classmates about your last excursion 
into the country , mentioning particularly the things 
that pleased you most. 

It. Read the following story / then tell it in your 
own tvords: 


The Fox and the Crow. 

A fox once saw a crow fly off with a piece of cheese in 
its beak and light on a branch of a.tree. “Good-day, 
Mistress Crow,” he cried. “ How well you are looking to¬ 
day ! how glossy your feathers ! how bright your eye ! Let 
me hear but one song from you, that I may greet you as 
Queen of the Birds.” 

The crow, highly flattered, lifted up her head and began 
to caw her best ; but the moment she opened her mouth 
the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped 
up by Master Fox. 


78 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


64. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy or write from dictation these proverbs. 
Think what each means. Choose the one your 
class needs most to remember and write it on the 
board: 

(1) Hunger is the best sauce. 

(2) Strike when the iron is hot. 

(3) Time and tide wait for no man. 

(4) He that plants trees loves others besides himself. 

b. Write three proverbs that you know , and tell 
your teacher what each means. 

c. Copy or # write from dictation the following 
sentences: 

(1) Out of debt is out of misery. 

(2) The child is father to the man. 

(3) Wishing, of all employments, is the worst. 

—Edward Young. 

(4) The laws of nature are the thoughts of God. 

(5) The noblest mind the best contentment has.— Ed¬ 
mund Spenser. 

d. Write the names of five, poets whose poems are 
in this book. Use initials for the first tivo words 
in each name. 

e. Describe a tree as it looks from a distance. 
Then describe the same tree as it looks when we 
stand under it. 

f. Write five questions in which you use the 
names of places. 



THE WRITING OF NAMES 


79 


g. Copy the following sentences , filling in the 
blanks: 


(1) -is President of the United States. 

(2) The-river rises in the State of-. 

(3) William II is-of-. 

(4) -wrote “ The Sandpiper.” 

(5) --painted the picture called “The Balloon.” 

(6) - -in our class writes interesting compositions. 

(7) Our teacher’s name is-. 

h. Copy or write from dictation the following: 

The eagle is a bird of large ideas. He embraces long 
distances. The continent is his home. I never look upon 
one without emotion. I follow him with my eye as long as 
I can. I think of Canada, of the Great Lakes, of the 
Rocky Mountains, of the wild and sounding seacoast. 
The waters are his, and the woods and the inaccessible 
cliffs. He pierces behind the veil of the storm, and his 
joy is in height and depth and vast spaces.— John Bur¬ 
roughs, adapted . 

i. Copy and learn by heart the following stanzas: 

The Eagle.. 

He clasps the crag with crooked hands; 

Close to the sun in lonely lands, 

Ring’d with the azure world, he stands. 

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls ; 

He watches from his mountain walls, 

And like a thunderbolt he falls. 

—Alfred Tennyson. 















80 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


j. Tell about something that happened to you on 
a very windy day. 

k. Write a story about anything you choose. 

l. Draw the picture which is presented to your 
mind by one of the following extracts: 

Between the andiron’s straddling feet 
The mug of cider simmered slow, 

The apples sputtered in a row. 

—John Greenleaf 'Whittier. 


When people call this beast to mind, 

They marvel more and more 
At such a little tail behind, 

So large a trunk before. 

—Hilaire Belloc. 

m. Write sentences answering the following 
questions , and give your group of sentences a title: 

Have you ever seen a bird’s nest? When and where did 
you find it ? What color was it? What was 'it made of? 
What was in it? Where had it been built ? What kind of 
bird had built it ? Why do you think so? 

7i. Write .sentences answering the following 
questions , and give your group of sentences a title: 

Have you ever seen a monkey ? When and where did 
you see it ? What was it doing ? What color was it ? How 
did it move? How did it sit still ? What was the shape of 
its head?. What kind of feet did it have? What kind of 
tail ? What did it eat ? What else did you notice about it ? 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


81 


o. Write from memory all the rules for the uses 
of capital letters , and follow each rule with an 
example . 

65. Oral and W ritten Exercises. 

a. Tell as many interesting things as you can 
about the clothes we wear , arranging your thoughts 
in some such order as the following : 

(1) Source of the materials out of which the goods is 
made. 

(2) Making the raw materials into cloth, etc. 

(3) Making the cloth, etc., into garments. 

(4) Styles. 

b. Tell as many interesting things as you can 
about our food. 

c. Head the following story / then tell it in your 
own words : 

The Mice, the Cat, and the* Bell. 

There was a sly cat in a house, and the mice were in 
such fear of her that they held a meeting to find some way 
to be safe from her. 

“ Do as I say,” cried one of the mice. “ Hang a bell to 
the cat’s neck, to tell us when she is near.” 

This bright plan made the mice jump for joy. 

“Well,” said an old mouse, “we have a pretty plan. 
Now, who shall hang the bell to the cat’s neck ?” 

Not a mouse would do it. 

To the Teacher. —Choose some of the compositions to be read in class. 
Then ask the children which they thought interesting, and which clearly told. 
These two points will be enough to work for at first. Later comes the step of 
noting happy ways of saying things that make a composition or a story more 
pleasing. The aim of writing to please the other children in the class is always 
a powerful stimulus to good work. 



MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


d. Answer each of the following questions in a 
complete sentence: 


Corn. 

Where, if ever, have you seen corn growing ? On what 
does it grow? What kind of leaves has it? How is the 
corn fastened to the stalk ? What is the shape of the ears ? 
How does the farmer know when the corn is ripe ? How is 
corn harvested ? For what is it used ? How many things 
are made from it ? 

e. Read the following story, then tell it in your 
own way: 

The Crow and the Pitcher. 

A crow, who was perishing with thirst, saw a pitcher, and 
flew to it, hoping to find water there. He found some water 
in the bottom of the pitcher, but it was so low that he could 
not reach it. Looking around to see what he could do, he 
spied some pebbles. He brought these, one by one, and 
dropped them into the pitcher, until the level of the water 
was raised within his reach. 

f Write sentences answering the following ques¬ 
tions, so that they will tell the story in your own 
wo?'ds: 

Why was the crow looking for water? What did he see ? 
Why did he fly to the pitcher? What did he find when he 
got there ? What did he do to .get the water? 

g. Talk with your teacher about a bird's nest 
which was once built inhere you could watch the 
birds. 


THE WRITING OF NAMES 


83 


A. Write the story of a bird's nest , arranging 
your thoughts in the following order : 

(1) The birds. (3) The materials. (5) The hatching. 

(2) The time. (4) The eggs. (6) Afterwards. 

i. Describe your school-house . Arrange your 
thoughts in some such order as the following , and 
make them as interesting as you can: 

(1) Where it is. (4) Where your room is. 

(2) How it looks from the (5) The windows of your 

outside. room. 

(3) How many rooms it con- (6) The furniture. 

tains. (7) The walls. 


Chapter II 


Rules for Punctuation 


Section XXVI. SENTENCE WRITING. 

You have been using capital letters, periods, 
question marks, and exclamation points in your 
sentences and the verses you have copied ever 
since you began to write, perhaps without think¬ 
ing very much why you used them. To-day you 
are going to learn a reason for them. 


0(». Conversation. 

Read the following : 

fire fire fire the flames are bursting from every window ~ 
of the doomed house are all safe a rope a rope what for a 
wild scream a child is left behind is not a ladder better 
quick quick a ladder 

It is a little hard, is it not, to get the sense 
out of this selection ? That is because there is 
nothing to show where one thought ends and 
another begins. But when the selection is prop¬ 
erly punctuated, as follows, the meaning is quite 
clear : 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


85 


“Fire! Fire! Fire!” 

The flames are bursting from every window of the doomed 
house. 

“Are all safe ? A rope ! a rope ! ” 

“ What for ? ” 

A wild scream : “A child is left behind! ” 

“ Is not a ladder better ? ” 

“ Quick ! quick ! A ladder ! ” 

Compare also the following ways of writing 
lines of poetry: 


cock crows in the morn to tell 
us to rise and he who is late 
will never be wise for early 
to bed and early to rise makes 
a man healthy and wealthy and wise 

Cock crows in the morn 
To tell us to rise 
And he who is late 
Will never be wise 
For early to bed 
And early to rise ‘ 

Makes a man healthy 
And wealthy and wise 

You see that here too the lack of arrangement 
and punctuation is very misleading. 

It is customary, therefore, for all good writers 
to observe the following rules: 

Every sentence should begin with a capital 
letter. 


86 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Every line of poetry should begin with a 
capital letter. 

A period should be placed after every sen¬ 
tence that tells something. 

An interrogation point should be placed after 
every sentence that asks a question. 

An exclamation point should be placed after 
every word or sentence that expresses strong 
feeling. 

In succeeding lessons we shall learn something 
about the other punctuation marks used in the 
sentence, and how they too help to make the 
thought clearer. 


67. Oral Exercises. 1 

a. Tell as many interesting things as you can 
about one of the following subjects. As you and 
your classmates tell them, your teacher will write 
your sentences on the blackboard. When she has 
done so, ask her to strike out any sentence that seems 
to you uninteresting, and to change the position of 
any sentence that seems to be in the wrong place. 

After this has been done, you will have on the 
blackboard a composition, which you may copy. 


1 To the Teacher .—There is material here for many exercises, which may 
be distributed over successive lessons. 

As the pupils express their thoughts orally, write their sentences on the 
board in correct form, so that they may be pictures to the eye, with capitals 
and punctuation marks properly arranged. Discourage the giving of uninter¬ 
esting and detached sentences. 



RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


87 


1. Rab 

2. Hiawatha 

3. April 

4. Mental Pictures 

5. Picture-Writing 

6. Words 


7. Robinson Crusoe 

8. The Schoolhouse 

9. A Circus 

10. Cars 

11. Bees 

12. The Rainbow 


Ik Tell as many interesting things as you can 
about Oranges, describing among other things: 

1. The shape, size, and color. 4. The seeds. 

2. The skin. Where grown. 

3. The pulp. 6. Uses. 


68. Written Exercises. 

a. Write six or seven sentences about Oranges. 
Observe the rules abo ut capitals and periods. 
Group your sentences together so as to make a 

paragraph, as in u Rab." You will then have 
written a short composition. 

b. Write sentences telling what some of the fol¬ 
lowing things are good for : 


iron 

ice 

wood 

leaves on a tree 


wheat 

snow 

clouds 

mountains 


leather 
dead leaves 
rivers 
wool 


c. Write five questions suggested by things that 
you can see from your desk. Give your questions 
to a classmate to answer in writing. 

d. Write five exclamations selected from u When 
the Little Boy Ran Away 


88 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


e. Find out something about the author of a 
poem ,, in this booh , that you are fond of Write 
it down and give it to your teacher. Ash her to 
use the best composition for a dictation exercise. 

f Describe a pretty dress you have seen some one 
wear. 

g. Imagine you are a cast-off doll. Tell your 
story. 

li. Imagine you are a deserted house. Tell the 
story of a little child whom you once sheltered; or, 
picture yourself loathing through a deserted house , 
writing down what you saw and how you felt. 

i. Write something you have noticed about a bird. 
Compare your story with one by Burroughs in 
this booh. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

Nought cared this body for wind or weather 
When youth and I lived in it together. 

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 


II. 

The snow had begun in the gloaming, 

And busily all the night 
Had been heaping field and highway 
With a silence deep and white. 

Every pine and fir and hemlock 
Wore ermine too dear for an earl; 

‘And the poorest twig on the elm tree 
Was ridged inch deep with pearl. 

—James Russell Lowell. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


89 



Section XXVII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Govimit the following poem to memory: 

The Water Lily. 

Fair little ship with a hundred sails, 

Spread abroad your cargo of gold ; 

One would think you had come from the East, 
Because of the spices you hold ! 

But you rock here at anchor from morning to night, 
With a fleet of green skiffs in your wake, 

And I see the long cables by which you draw up 
Your spices and gold from the lake. 

— 8. *J. Day. 

09. Interpretation. 

What does the poet call the Water Lily? 
Which part of the flower does she call “a hun¬ 
dred sails”? What is the “cargo of gold”? 
What are the “ spices ” which the “fair little 
ship” brings to us? How is the little ship 
anchored ? 

Have you ever gathered water lilies from a 





90 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


boat? How do the “green skiffs” and the 
“long cables” interfere with a rower’s oars? 
How does the little ship get its cargo of spices 
and gold? 

70. Oral Exercise. 

Without using its name, describe some floioer in 
as interesting a way as you can, and see whether 
your classmates can tell from your description 
what flower it is. 

71. Written Exercises. 

a. Write a group of sentences answering the 
questions in the Interpretation, Section 69. 

b. Write sentences describing some flower, with¬ 
out using its name. Make the sentences as inter¬ 
esting as you can. Read your description in 
class, and see tohether your classmates can tell 
from your description icliat flower it is. 

c. Copy or write from dictation the following 
group of sentences: 

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They 
toil not, neither do they spin. Yet I say unto you, that 
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
these. 

d. Learn the following sentences, and then write 
them from memory: 

(1) We all do fade as a leaf. 

(2) Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.— Thomas 
Ileywood. 

(3) A penny saved is a penny got.— Henry Fielding. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


91 


e. Copy the following selection: 

The song biras nearly all build low. Their cradle is not 
upon the tree top. It is only birds of prey that fear danger 
from below more than from above, and that seek the higher 
branches for their nests. A line five feet from the ground 
w T ould run above more than half the nests, and one ten 
feet would bound more than three fourths of them.— John 
Burroughs. 

Section XXVIII. OWNERSHIP OR'POSSESSION. 

Head the following sentences: 

1. John has a knife. 

2. Johns knife is sharp. 

72 . Conversation. 

Who is spoken of in the first sentence? What 
•is said about him? 

What is said about the knife in the second 
sentence? What does the word John's do in 
the second sentence? What has been added to 
the word John to denote ownership or posses¬ 
sion? 

The mark 9 is called the Apostrophe. 

When a word is used to denote ownership or 
possession, an apostrophe and s should he added 
unless the word already ends in s . 1 

3 The girls have silver bracelets. 

4 The girls’ bracelets are of silver. 

1 To the Teacher. —This rule is accurate enough for young pupils. If the 
teacher thinks best, the possessives James's and Charles's may be taught as 
exceptions. For a full statement of modern usage in forming the posses¬ 
sive case see “ A Modern English Grammar,” Section 116. 



92 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


What word in the first sentence names the 
persons spoken of? With what letter does it 
end? 

What does the word girls' do in the second 
sentence? What has been added to the word 
girls to denote ownership or possession? 

When a word ending in s is used to denote 
possession, the apostrophe alone should be added. 


73. Oral Exercises. 

ct. Tell the diff erence in meaning between the fol¬ 
lowing forms: 

horse horses horse’s horses' 

How many of the forms sound alike? 
b. Tell why the apostrophe is used in each of the 
following sentences: 


(0 

A boy’s will is the wind’s will. 

(*) 

And fast before her father’s men 


Three days we fled together. 

(3) 

In a cowslip’s bell I lie; 


There I couch when owls do cry. 


74. Written Exercises. 


a. Make the following words denote possession , 
and use the possessive forms in sentences: 

ox lady men foxes soldiers 

daisy bee children ladies fishes 

dog gentlemen crow frog bear 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


93 


b. Copy or write from dictation the following 
sentences: 

(1) I heard a robin’s song in May. 

(2) I found robins’ nests in April. 

(3) The child’s voice was heard in the street. 

(4) Children’s voices are dear to a mother’s ear. 

(5) What hero’s birthday comes in February? 

Point out the words used, to denote ownership or 
possession , and tell what Iras been added, to them. 
When has the apostrophe only been added ? 

c. Change the foil owing sentences so that the 
words in italics shall have the form that denotes 
possession : 

1. Androcles trembled at the roar of the lion. 

2. The flood destroyed the houses of the miners. 

3. The boys found the den of the fox in the woods. 

4. The cries of the monkeys were hated by the wolves. 

» Memory Gem. 

But pleasures are like poppies spread, 

You seize the flower, its bloom is shed ; 

Or, like the snowfall in the river, 

A moment white, then melts forever. 

—Robert Burns. 

Section XXIX. LITERATURE STUDY. 

r Read the following story: 

Androcles and the Lion. 

In the old Roman days, a slave named Androcles was 
so ill treated by his master that he ran away to the forest 


94 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


and hid in a large cave. Tired out and hungry, he lay 
down to sleep. 

Suddenly he was awakened by a great noise. Starting to 
his feet, he saw a huge lion in the mouth of the cave. 
Androcles trembled with fear ; he thought he had escaped 
the blows of his master, only to be eaten up by the lion. 

To his surprise the lion came towards him holding up his 
paw, which Androcles saw was badly swollen. He grew 
bold and took hold of the lion’s paw to see what was the 
matter. The lion stood quite still and rubbed his head 
against the man’s shoulder, seeming to say, “I know that 
you will help me.” 

Androcles took the paw in his hand and saw in the ball 
of the foot a long, sharp thorn. He took the end of the 
thorn in his fingers, gave a strong pull, and out it came. 
The lion showed his gratitude by every means in his power; 
he wagged his great tail, and licked the hands and feet of 
his new friend. 

From this time on Androcles was never without food. 
He lived in the cave of the lion for some months, and was 
very happy. 

One day, when he was wandering in the forest, he was 
captured by some soldiers, who took him back to his mas¬ 
ter. He was sentenced to be thrown to a lion in the public 
arena. 

When the day came, thousands of people crowded to see 
the sport. Androcles stood calmly in the middle of the 
arena. He could hear the lion roar outside the gate. 
Presently j:he door was opened, and a hungry lion bounded 
in with a roar that made the spectators tremble. 

Androcles gave a great cry, but not of fear ; for he saw 
that it was his old friend, the lion of the thorn. 

The spectators were amazed. They saw Androcles put 
his arm around the lion’s neck. They saw the lion lick 
his feet and hands lovingly. They could not understand 
what it meant. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


95 


The Governor of the city Ordered Androcles to explain 
why the savage lion had become as harmless as a lamb. 
Androcles stood up, with his hand on the lion’s neck, and 
told of their life together in the cave. 



Hlv'OKy 


ANDROCLES AND THE LION. 

This pleased the spectators, and they shouted to the 
Governor, “ Let the poor slave and the lion go free! ” 
Androcles and the lion were set free, and they lived to¬ 
gether for many years. 











96 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


75. Interpretation. 

When were “the old Roman days”? What is 
a “slave”? Look up in a dictionary the origin of 
the word slave. 

What was “the public arena”? What in 
modern life resembles the ancient arena? 


76. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell the story of Androcles and the Lion, using 
the following outline: 


(1) Androcles. 

(2) The surprise. 

(3) The thorn. 

(4) The relief. 


(5) The lion’s gratitude. 

(6) The recapture. 

(7) In the arena. 

(8) The end. 


b. Imagine yourself one of the spectators when 
Androcles was thrown in the arena. Tell as in¬ 
terestingly as you can what you saw and heard. 


77. Written Exercises. 

a. Imagine yourself Androcles. Write the story 
of yourself and the lion. 

b. Write d composition about lions, telling 
interesting things , and arranging your thoughts 
according to an orderly outline. 

c. Write the second Oral Exercise. 

d. Describe, as you imagine it, the scene in the 
public arena before the lion entered. 


RULES IfOR PUNCTUATION 97 

Memory Gem. 

Boughs are daily rifled 
By the gusty thieves, 

And the book of Nature 
Getteth short of leaves. 

— Thomas Hood. 

Section XXX. CONTRACTIONS. 

In a recent lesson you learned that the apos¬ 
trophe is used to denote possession. In this 
lesson you are to learn another use of the apos¬ 
trophe. 

Read the following sentence: 

I’ve found my pencil. 

78. Conversation. 

What does I've mean? What letters have 
been omitted in Tve? What mark is placed in 
I've to show where some letters are omitted? 

A word made from two words by omitting a 
letter or letters is called a Contraction. 

In contractions the place of omitted letters 
should he marked by an apostrophe. 

Ain't is an incorrect form which good speak¬ 
ers and writers never use. 

The proper contraction for “is not” is “isn’t;” 
for “are not,” “aren’t.” 

The only contraction for “ I am not” is “I’m 
not.” 


98 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


79. Oral Exercise. 

Consider each apostrophe in the following 
selections , and tell whether it marks possession or 
a contraction: 

(1) Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s, thy 
God’s and Truth’s.— William Shakespeare. 

(2) The year’s at the spring, 

And day’s at the morn ; 

Morning’s at seven; 

The hillside’s dew-pearled; 

The lark’s on the wing ; 

The snail’s on the thorn; 

God’s in his heaven— 

All’s right with the world. 

— Robert Browning. 

80. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the following sentences: 

(1) Don’t cross a bridge till you come to it. 

(2) An honest man’s the noblest work of God. 

(3) Wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king? 

(4) Variety’s the very spice of life.— William Cowper. 

Point out the contractions , and tell what letters 
have been omitted. 

b. Write sentences containing the cont/r actions of: 

I have I will there is shall not 

do not are not cannot they are 

is not will not does not I am not 


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c. Make a list of the contractions found in the 
following sentences , and opposite each write what 
it stands for; thus, I'll = I will: 


(0 

C) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) - 

( 6 ) 

(7) 

( 8 ) 
(9) 

( 10 ) 


There’s a silver lining to every cloud. 
There isn’t a cloud in the sky. 

I’m sure they’re going to the circus. 

I sha’n’t see her to-day. 

HeY under the haystack, fast asleep. 

It’s a long lane that has no turning. 

Rab wasn’t a handsome dog. 

Hasn’t the mail come yet? 

I’ll give thee a silver pound 
To row us o’er the ferry! 

O velvet bee, you’re a dusty fellow, 
You’ve powdered your legs with gold. 


cl. Copy or 
given above. 


write from dictation the sentences 


Memory Gems. 

I. 

Howe’er it be, it seems to me 
’Tis only noble to be good. 

Kind hearts are more than coronets, 

And simple faith than Norman blood. 

—Alfred Tennyson. 


II. 

Now came still evening on, and twilight gray 
Had in her sober livery all things clad. 

—John Milton . 


L.of C. 


100 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



Twickenham Ferry. 

“ Ahoy ! and Olio ! and it’s who’s for the ferry ? ” 

(The brier’s in bud and the sun going down ;) 

“And I’ll row ye so quick and I’ll row ye so steady, 

And ’tis but a penny to Twickenham Town/' 

The ferryman’s slim and the ferryman’s young, 

With just a soft tang in the turn of his tongue; 

And he’s fresh as a pippin and brown as a berry, 

,And ’tis but a penny to Twickenham Town. 

“Ahoy ! and Oho! and it’s I’m for the ferry; ” 

(The brier’s in bud and the sun going down ;) 

“And it’s late as it is, and I haven’t a penny: 

Oh, how can I get me to Twickenham Town ? ” 

She’d a rose in her bonnet, and oh ! she looked sweet 
As the little pink flower that grows in the wheat, 

With her cheeks like a rose and her lips like a cherry— 

“ And sure, but you’re welcome to Twickenham Town.” 

“Ahoy ! and Oho ! —” You’re too late for the ferry : 

(The brier’s in bud and the sun going down;) 

And he’s not rowing quick and he’s not rowing steady,— 
It seems quite a journey to Twickenham Town. 







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101 


<f Ahoy ! and Oho ! ” you may call as you will: 

The young moon is rising o’er Petersham Hill; 

And with Love like a rose in the stern of the wherry, 
There’s danger in crossing to Twickenham Town. 

— Theophile Marzials. 


81. Interpretation. 

Tell in your own words how this ferry¬ 
man looked. What is there about the poets 
description of him that you like? 

What is the meaning of “tang” ? 

Tell what the ferryman saw as he called for 
passengers. Whose words are given in the first 
line of the second stanza? in the last line of the 
same stanza ? 

Why was the ferryman willing to take his 
passenger without any fare? Why didn’t he 
wait for more passengers? 

Whose words are given at the beginning of 
the third stanza? 

What line suggests a long story to you? 

How has the poet told us the time of day? 
the season of the year? Why did he separate 
this from the story? What is the meaning of 
the last two lines? 

Is this story told in such a way as to leave 
much or little for you to imagine? 

Look at the picture “Calling the Ferryman” 
on page 125. How would you change it to have 
it illustrate this poem? 


102 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


82. Oral Exercise. 

Imagine you are the belated passenger. Tell 
what happened to you , and ivliat you saw. 

83. Written Exercises. 

a. Make a list of contractions in the poem , and 
opposite each write what it stands for. 

b. Imagine you are some one from the village 
taking a quiet stroll that evening. Tell the story 
of Twickenham Ferry from your point of view. 

' Section XXXII. QUOTATIONS. 

Head the following sentences: 

i. One day a little red hen picked up a grain 
of wheat. 

2 “ Who will carry it to the mill?” 

3. “ Not I,” said the mouse. 

4. “ Not I,” said the grouse. 

5. “Then I’ll carry it myself,” said the little 
red hen. 

6. “Will you walk into my parlor?” said the 
spider. 

7. “ Oh no !” said the little fly. 

8. Pussy said to the owl, “You elegant fowl, 

How charmingly sweet you sing!” 

84. Conversation. 

Whose words are -repeated first? What 
were the exact words of the mouse’s reply? 


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103 


What did the grouse say? What did the little 
red hen say then? 

When the exact words of a person are repeated 
by another they are said to be Quoted. 

The words that are repeated are called a 

Quotation. 

Notice the little marks that are placed before 
and after each quotation. Make them on the 
blackboard. 

The marks “ ”, which are used to enclose 
the exact words of another person, are called 

Quotation Marks. 

Every quotation should be enclosed by quota¬ 
tion marks. 

What other mark of punctuation is between 
the quotation and the rest of the sentence in 
sentences (3), (4), and (5) in sentences (6) and 

(7)? 

A quotation should be separated from other 
parts of the same sentence by a comma, unless 
an interrogation point or an exclamation point 
already occupies the place. 

Observe that the quotation marks in (2) and 
(6) are outside of the question mark, because 
the latter belongs to the words which are quoted. 
Why does Pussy begin with a capital? 

Why does Hoiv begin with a capital? 

Where does thequotation begin in sentence(8)? 
The first word of every quotation should begin 
with a capital. 


104 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


85. Oral Exercises. 

a. Repeat a short conversation that you have had 
within the last day or two about something that 
interested youusing the words of each speaker. 

h. Tell which words in the following sentences 
should he enclosed by quotation marks: 

(1) The big bear growled out, Somebody has been sitting 
in my chair. 

(2) Said the wind to the moon, I will blow you out. 

c. Read the following story , and then tell it , 
using what you think ivere the exact words of the 
different speakers: 


The Wind and the Sun. 

The North Wind and the Sun had a dispute as to which 
of the two was the stronger. While they were talking, a 
traveler came in sight, and they agreed that the one should 
be called stronger who should first make the traveler take 
off his cloak. 

The North Wind began to blow as hard as he could 
upon the traveler. But the harder he blew, the more 
closely did the traveler wrap his cloak round him, till at 
last the North Wind, having put forth all his strength in 
vain, had to give up in despair. 

Then the Sun, driving away the clouds that had gathered, 
came out and shone in all his glory. He darted his most 
sultry beams upon the traveler, who soon found it too hot 
to walk with his cloak on. He flung it off and ran for pro¬ 
tection to the nearest shade. 




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105 


80 . Written Exercises. 

a. Copy or write from dictation the following 
sentences , placing quotation marks around the 
quotations: 

(1) I’m going a-milking, sir, she said. 

(2) The fox muttered, The grapes are sour. I do not 
want them. 

(3) What long arms you have, grandmother ! said little 
Red Riding Hood. 

(4) Who killed Cock Robin ? 

I, said the sparrow. 

With my bow and arrow, 

I killed Cock Robin. 

(5) Who’ll eat the cake ? said the little Red Hen. 

I will, said the mouse. 

I will, said the grouse. 

I’ll eat it myself, said the little Red Hen. 

(6) Then out spake brave Horatius, the captain of the 

gate, 

To every man upon this earth death cometh soon or 
late! 

And how can man die better than in facing fearful 
odds, 

For the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his 
gods ? 

(7) Sir Launcelot mused a little space. 

He said, She hath a lovely face. 

God, in his mercy, lend her grace, 

The Lady of Shalott. 

’(8) Then the moon looked out from a cloud and said: 
Are you sorry you ran away ? 


106 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


b. Copy or write from dictation the following 
conversation, placing quotation marks where they 
are needed: 

Where are you going in such a hurry, Brother Wolf? 
asked Mr. Snail. 

I am going to the city, said Brother Wolf. 

What do you propose to do there? exclaimed Mr. Snail. 

I want to see my brother, who is sick in the menagerie. 
He has written me to come to him. 

That is very queer. I am going to the city also, said 
Mr. Snail. 

You have no legs, and you carry your house on your 
back. How will you manage to get there ? asked Brother 
Wolf. 

Don’t trouble about that; my house is mine, and I do 
not need legs. I will be in the city before you, replied Mr. 
Snail . 1 —Frederic Ortoli. 

c. Finish the story of Mr. Snail and Brother 
Wolf , telling hoiv you think Mr. Snail reached the 
city first. 

Memory Gem. 

Over in the meadow, 

Where the stream runs blue, 

Lived an old mother-fish 
And her little fishes two. 

“ Swim ! ” said the mother ; 

“We swim,” said the two ; 

So they swam and they leaped, 

Where the stream runs blue. 


1 From “ Evening Tales,” by Frederic Ortoli. Published by Charles Scrib¬ 
ner’s Sons. 








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107 



Section XXXIII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

A Mad Tea Party. 

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the 
house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having 
tea at it. A Dormouse was sitting between them fast asleep. 
Alice sat down in an armchair at one end of the table. 

The Hatter looked at Alice for some time with great 


A MAD TEA PARTY. 


curiosity, then he said, “ Why is a raven like a writing- 
desk ? ” 

“Come, we shall have some fun now!” thought Alice. 
“I’m glad they’ve begun asking riddles—I believe I can 
guess that,” she added aloud. 

“Do you mean you think you can find out the answer to 
it ? ” said the March Hare. 

“ Exactly so,” said Alice. 

“Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare 
went on. 

“ I do,” Alice hastily replied ; “ at least—at least I mean 
what I say—that’s the same thing, you know.” 
































108 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


“Not the same thing a bit!” said the-Hatter. “Why, 
you might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the 
same thing as ‘ I eat what I see ’ ! ” 

“You might just as well say,” added the March Hare, 
“that ‘ I like what I get ’ is the same thing as ‘ I get what 
I like ’! ” 

“ You might just as well say,” added the Dormouse, who 
seemed to be talking in his sleep, “ that ‘ I breathe when I 
sleep ’ is the same thing as ‘ I sleep when I breathe ’! ” 

“It is the same thing with you,” said the Hatter, and 
here the conversation dropped.— Lewis Carroll . 

87. Interpretation. 

“As mad as a March hare” is an old English 
proverb derived from the fact that hares in 
March are excitable, wild, and violent. 

“ As mad as a hatter” is an old English prov¬ 
erb, the original form of which was, “ As mad as 
an atter,” alter being an old English word mean¬ 
ing “ adder.” 

Look up in a dictionary the history of the 
word dormouse. 

If you have not read it, look up the rest of 
the story of the “Mad Tea Party.” 

88. Oral Exercises. 

a. Repeat the conversation between Alice , the 
Hatter , the March Hare, and the Dormouse. 

1). Tell why the author chose the March Hare and 
the Hatter to figure as characters in U A Mad Tea 
Party!' 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


109 


89. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the first six paragraphs of the conver¬ 
sation at the Mad Tea Party . 

h. Write a conversation between a church bell 
and a fire bell. Try to put yourself in the place 
of each, and imagine what one would have to say 
to the other. 

Memory Gem. 

Whichever way the wind doth blow, 

Some heart is glad to have it so; 

Then blow it east or blow it west, 

The wind that blows—that wind is best. 


Section XXXIY. DIVIDED QUOTATION'S. 

Read the following sentences: 

“And where/’ said the wolf, “are you going?” 
.“I am going to my grandmother’s,” said Little 
Red Riding Hood, “to take her a cake and a 
pot of butter.” 


90. Conversation. 

What was the wolf’s question? What words 
divide the wolf’s question into two parts? By 
what marks is each part enclosed? By what 
other marks are the words said the wolf separated 
from the quotation? 

What was Red Riding Hood’s reply? What 
words divide it into two parts? Why are commas 


110 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


placed before and after these words? Why are 
the two parts of Red Riding Hood’s reply 
enclosed in quotation marks? 

When a quotation is divided by other words, 
each part should be enclosed by quotation marks. 

The words that divide the quotation should be 
cut off by commas. 

91. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell a conversation that recently took 'place 
between two persons in your presence , quoting 
their words. 

b. Relate an imaginary conversation betiveen 
two of your pets or some other familiar objects. 

92. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy or rorite from dictation the following 
sentences , placing quotation marks ivhere they are 
needed: 

(1) What is the use of a book, said Alice, without pic¬ 
tures and conversations? 

( 2 ) Do you want to go to the ball, Cinderella ? asked the 
fairy godmother. 

( 3 ) The greatest of faults, said Carlyle, is to be con¬ 
scious of none. 

(4) if r 'm a beggar born, she said, 

I will speak out, for I dare not lie. 

(5) Where are you going, my pretty maid ? 

I am going a-milking, sir, she said. 

May I go with you, my pretty maid? 

You’re kindly welcome, sir, she said. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


111 


b. Read the following story, and then write it 
from memory or dictation: 

The Ant and the Grasshopper. 

One winter day an ant was carrying a piece of corn that 
he had stored up in the summer. 

A hungry grasshopper, who had stored up nothing for the 
winter, saw the ant and said, “ Please give me some of 
your corn, for I am starving.” 

“Why didn’t you store up food for yourself last sum¬ 
mer? ” asked the ant. 

“All summer I was too busy singing!” said the grass¬ 
hopper. 

“ Since you were foolish enough to sing all summer,” 
said the ant, “ you will have to dance in the winter.” And 
he passed on. 

c. Copy the following poem, omitting the marks 
of punctuation. Then close the book, and see if 
you can insert the punctuation marks in the right 
places. 

The Bee and the Flower. 

The bee buzz’d up in the heat. 

“ I am faint for your honey, my sweet.” 

The flower said, “ Take it, mv dear, 

For now is the spring of the year. 

So come, come! ” 

“ Hum ! ” 

And the bee buzz’d down from the heat. 

And the bee buzz’d up in the cold 

When the flower was wither’d and old. 

“Have you still any honey, my dear? ” 


112 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


She said, “ It’s the fall of the year, 

But come, come ! ” 

“ Hum!” 

And the bee buzz’d off in the cold. 

—Alfred Tennyson . 


Learn the poem by heart, 
d. Write one of the Oral Exercises. 

Section XXXY. LITERATURE STUDY. 

“ The Story of a Bad Boy,” by the author of 
“ Alec Yeatons Son,” is a charming tale for young- 
folks. It is said to narrate many true incidents of 
Mr. Aldrichs childhood days in New Hampshire. 

Read the following poem: 

Alec Yeaton’s Son. 

The wind it wailed, the wind it moaned, 

And the white caps flecked the sea; 

“An’ I would to God,” the skipper groaned, 

“ I had not my boy with me ! ” 

Snug in the stern-sheets, little John 
Laughed as the scud swept by ; 

But the skipper’s sunburnt cheek grew wan 
As he watched the wicked sky. 

“ Would he were at his mother’s side ! ” 

And the skipper’s eyes were dim. 

“Good Lord in heaven, if ill betide, 

What would become of him ? 

“ For me, my muscles are ns steel, 

For me let hap what may; 

I might make shift upon the keel 
Until the break o’ day. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


1 


“ But he, he is so weak and small. 

So young, scarce learned to stand— 

O pitying Father of us all, 

I trust him in thy hand ! 

“ For thou, who markest from on high 
A sparrow’s fall, each one ! 

Surely, O Lord, thou ’It have an eye 
On Alec Yeaton’s son ! ” 

Then, helm hard-port, right straight he sailed 
Towards the headland light : 

The wind it moaned, the wind it wailed, 

And black, black fell the night. 

Then burst a storm to make one quail 
Though housed from winds and waves— 

They who could tell about that gale 
Must rise from watery graves ! 

Sudden it came, as sudden went; 

Ere half the night was sped, 

The winds were hushed, the waves were spent, 
And the stars shone overhead. 

Now, as the morning mist grew thin, 

The folk on Gloucester shore 

Saw a little figure floating in, 

Secure, on a broken oar! 

Up rose a cry, “A wreck ! a wreck ! 

Pull, mates, and waste no breath ! ” 

They knew it, though ’twas but a speck 
Upon the edge of death ! 

•Long did they marvel in the town 
At God his strange decree, 

That let the stalwart skipper drown, 

And the little child go free ! 

— Thomas Bailey Aldrich. 




114 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


93. Interpretation. 

What kind of day was it when the skipper 
started out with his little boy? 

Describe the storm. Use lines in the poem 
to help your description. 

What was probably the last thing the skipper 
did for the safety of his boy? 

Why were the folk on the shore in the morning? 

Who were the “mates” who saved the little boy? 

What does this poem tell you of a skipper’s 
life ? 

What is the meaning of “flecked”? Would 
you use the word “fleck” in conversation ? 

What is the “ scud ” ? 

Describe the wicked sky. Why did the poet 
call it “ wicked ” ? 

What would you use in prose for hap ? wan ?„ 
betide ? 

What is the meaning of the line, “ I might 
make shift upon the keel ” ? 

H ow can you use “ make shift ” as one word ? 

What do you like about the words “burst” 
and “housed” in the eighth stanza? 


94. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell the story of Alec Yeatoris son in your 
own words. Arrange your thoughts as follows: 

1. The persons. 3. The storm. 

2. The prayer. 4. The scene on Gloucester shore. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


115 


b. Imagine you were one of the fisher folk on the 
shore the next morning. Then tell the story of Alec 
Yeatoils son. 

95. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy from this poem the lines that describe 
the storm. Underline the ivords that make the de¬ 
scription vivid. 

b. Write one of the Oral Exercises. 

c. Draw some picture suggested to your mind 
by the poem. 


Section XXXYT. THE COMMA IX ADDRESS. 

Dead the follow)ing sentences: 

1. Mary, go and call the cattle home. 

2. But, grandmother, what great eyes you 
have ! 

3. Open the door, my princess dear. 


96. Conversation. 

Who is spoken to in the first sentence? How 
is her name separated from the rest of the sen¬ 
tence? 

Who is addressed in the second sentence? 
How many commas are used to separate her 
name from the rest of the sentence? 


116 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Why is a comma used in the third sentence 
after door? 

The name of the person addressed should be 
separated from the rest of the sentence by 
commas. 


97. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy or write from dictation the following 
sentences, inserting commas where they are needed: 

(1) Boatman do not tarry. 

(2) Flow gently sweet Afton among thy green braes. 

(3) Girls and boys come out to play. 

(4) Friends 1 come not here to talk. 

(5) Where are you going my pretty maid? 

(6) I'm going a-milking sir. 

b. w rite from dictation the following sentences: 

(1) Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn. 

(2) Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home. 

(3) Give me of your balm, O fir tree. 

(4) O Wind, 

If winter comes, can spring be far behind ? 

—Percy Bysshe Shelley. 

Memory Gem. 

The fisher who draws in his net too soon 
Won’t have any fish to sell; 

The child who shuts up his book too soon 
Won’t learn any lessons well. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


117 


Section XXXVII. LITERATURE STUDY 

A Tar-Baby. 

In the times when there were hobgoblins and fairies, 
Brother Goat and Brother Rabbit lived in the same neigh¬ 
borhood, not far from each other. 

Proud of his long beard and sharp horns, Brother Goat 
looked on Brother Rabbit with dis¬ 
dain. He would hardly speak to 
Brother Rabbit when he met him, 
and his greatest pleasure was to make 
his little neighbor the victim of his 
tricks and practical jokes. For in¬ 
stance, he would say: 

“ Brother Rabbit, here is Mr. Fox,” 
and this would cause Brother Rabbit 
to run away as hard as he could. 

Again he would say: 

“ Brother Rabbit, here is Mr. Wolf,” 
and poor Brother Rabbit would shake 
and tremble with fear. Sometimes 
he would cry out: 

“Brother Rabbit, here is Mr. Tiger,’’and then Brother Rab¬ 
bit would shudder and think that his last hour had come. 

Tired of this miserable existence, Brother Rabbit tried to 
think of some means by which he could change his power¬ 
ful and terrible neighbor into a friend. After a time, lie 
thought he had discovered a way to make Brother Goat his 
friend, and so he invited him to dinner. 

Brother Goat was quick to accept the . invitation, and the 
dinner was a fine affair. 

“Well, my friend,” exclaimed Brother Rabbit, when the 
dessert was brought in, “how do you like your dinner? ” 

“I could certainly wish for nothing better,” replied 
Brother Goat, “ but my throat is very dry and a little water 




118 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



BROTHER GOAT. 


would hurt neither the dinner nor 
me.” 

“ Gracious ! ” said Brother Rabbit, 
“I have neither wine-cellar nor water. 
I am not in the habit of drinking 
while I am eating.” 

“ Neither have I any water, Brother 
Rabbit,” said Brother Goat. “ But I 
have an idea! If you will go with 
me over yonder by the big poplar, 
we will dig a well.” 

“ No, Brother Goat,” said Brother 
Rabbit, who hoped to revenge himself, “ no, I do not care to 
dig a well. At daybreak I drink the dew from the cups of the 
flowers, and in the heat of the day I milk the cows and drink 
the cream.” 

“Well and good,” said Brother Goat. “Alone I will dig 
the well, and alone I will drink out of it.” 

“ Success to you, Brother Goat,” said Brother Rabbit. 

“ Thank you kindly, Brother Rabbit.” 

Brother Goat then went to the foot of the big poplar and 
began to dig his well. Soon the water began to bubble up 
and the well was finished, and Brother Goat made haste to 
quench his thirst. 

Brother Rabbit, who had followed him at a little distance, 
hid himself behind a bjush and laughed heartily. He said 
to himself: “What an innocent creature you are ! ” 

The next day, when Brother Goat returned to his well to get 
some water, he saw the tracks of Brother Rabbit in the soft 
earth. This put him to thinking. He sat down, pulled his 
beard, scratched his head, and tapped himself on the forehead. 

“My friend,” he exclaimed after a while, “ I will catch 
you yet.” 

Then he ran and got his tools and made a large doll out 
of laurel wood. When the doll was finished, he spread tar 
on it here and there, on the right and on the left, and up 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


119 


and down. He smeared it all over with the sticky stuff, 
until it was as black as a Guinea negro. 

At sunset he placed the tarred doll near the well, and hid 
himself behind the trees and bushes. 

Brother Rabbit, who was waiting in his house, believed 
that the time had come for him to get some water, so he 
took his bucket and went to Brother Goat’s well. On the 
way he was very much afraid that something would catch 
him. He trembled when the wind shook the leaves of the 
trees. He would go a little distance and then stop and 
listen; he hid here behind a stone, and there behind a tuft 
of grass. 

At last he arrived at the well, and there he saw the little 
negro. He stopped and looked at it with astonishment. 

“What can that be? ” he said to himself. He listened, 
with his long ears pointed forward, but the trees could not 
talk, and the bushes were dumb. He winked his eyes and 
lowered his head: 

“Hey, friend! who are you?” he asked. 

The tar-doll didn’t move. Brother Rabbit went up a 
little closer, and asked again: 

“ Who are you ? ” 

The tar-doll said nothing. Brother Rabbit breathed 
more at ease. Then he went to the brink of the well; but 
when he looked in the water, the tar-doll seemed to look in 
too. He could see her reflection in the water. This made 
Brother Rabbit so mad that he grew red in the face. 

“See h$re! ” he exclaimed, “if you look in this well, I’ll 
give you a rap on the nose.” 

Brother Rabbit leaned over the brink of the well, and 
saw the tar-doll smiling at him in the water. He raised his 
right hand and hit her—bam ! His hand stuck. 

“ What’s this ? ” exclaimed Brother Rabbit. “Turn me 
loose, imp of Satan! If you do not, I will rap you on the 
eye with my other hand.” 


120 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Then he hit her—bim! The left hand stuck also. Then 
Brother Rabbit raised his right foot, saying: 

“ Mark me well, little Congo !. Do you see this foot ? I 
will kick you in the stomach if you do not turn me loose 
this instant.” 

No sooner said than done Brother Rabbit let fly his 
right foot—vip! The foot stuck, and he raised the other. 

“Do you see this foot?” he exclaimed. “If I hit you 
with it, you will think a thunderbolt has struck you.” 

Then he kicked her with the left foot, and it also stuck like 
the other, and Brother Rabbit held fast his Guinea negro. 

“Watch out, now!” he cried. “I’ve already butted a 
great many people with my head. If I butt you in your 
ugly face, I’ll knock it into a jelly. Turn me loose! Oho! 
You don’t answer ? ” Bap ! 

“Guinea girl!” exclaimed Brother Rabbit, “are you 
dead? Gracious Goodness! how my head does stick ! ” 

When the sun rose, Brother Goat went to his well to find 
out something about Brother Rabbit. 

“ Hey, little rogue, big rogue ! ” exclaimed Brother Goat. 
“Hey, Brother Rabbit! what are you doing there? I 
thought you drank the dew from the cups of the flowers, or 
milk from the cows. Aha, Brother Rabbit! I will punish 
you for stealing my water.” 

“ I am your friend,” said Brother Rabbit; “ don’t kill me.’’ 

“Thief, thief!” cried Brother Goat, and then he ran 
quickly into the woods, gathered up a pile of dry limbs, and 
made a great fire. He took Brother Rabbit frpm the tar- 
doll, and prepared to burn him alive. As he was passing a 
thicket of brambles with Brother Rabbit on his shoulders, 
Brother Goat met his daughter Beledie, who was walking 
in the fields. 

“ Where are you going, papa, muffled up with such a 
burden? Come and eat the fresh grass.with me, and throw 
wicked Brother Rabbit in the brambles.” 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


121 


Cunning Brother Rabbit raised his long ears and pre¬ 
tended to be very much frightened. 

“ Oh, no, Brother Goat! ” he cried. “ Don’t throw me in 
the brambles. They will tear my flesh, put out my eyes 
and pierce my heart. Oh, I pray you, rather throw me in 
the fire.” 

“Aha, little rogue, big rogue! Aha, Brother Rabbit!” 



exclaimed Brother Goat, exultingly, “you don’t like the 
brambles? Well, then, go and laugh in them,” and he 
threw Brother Rabbit in without a feeling of pity. 

Brother Rabbit fell in the brambles, leaped to his feet, 
and began to laugh. 

“ Ha-ha-ha! Brother Goat, what a simpleton you are ! 
A better bed I never had ! I was born in a briar-patch! ” 



122 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Brother Goat was in despair, but he could not help him¬ 
self. Brother Rabbit was safe. 

A long beard is not always a sign of intelligence. 1 

98. Interpretation. 

Why did Brother Rabbit not join Brother 
Goat in digging the well ? What excuse did he 
make? What was the thought in his mind 
when he laughed and said to himself, “ What an 
innocent creature you are”? 

What is a Guinea negro? 

Is the word mad correctly used in this story? 
What word might be substituted for it? 

Explain little Congo. 

How does the proverb at the end fit the story? 


99. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell the story of the Tar-Baby. 

b. Tell ivhat you learn from this story about the 
characters of Brother Goat and Brother Rabbit. 

100. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the paragraph beginning , “ Watch out , 
now!" writing in full the words which are con¬ 
tracted. 

b. Observe caref ully the commas in the sentences 
beginning with “for instance “ if" “ after” 
“ when." Copy these sentences. 


1 Adapted from “ Evening Tales,” by Frederic Ortoli ; translated from the 
French by Joel Chandler Harris ; published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, N.Y. 



RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


123 


C: Write four sentences of your own beginning 
with the words quoted in the last exercise. Write 
them on the board, and let your classmates tell if 
you have used the comma correctly. 

d. Write four questions about this story for your 
classmates to answer. 

e. Draw some picture suggested to your mind by 
the story. 


Section XXXVIII. THE COMMA IX A SERIES. 

Dead the following sentences: 

1 Constance, Jack, Reginald, and Wallace are 
playing in the sand. 

2 Birds fly, hop, chirp, twitter, and sing. 

3 The aCpples were sweet, mellow, and juicy. 


lOl. Conversation. 

How many persons are mentioned in the first 
sentence? Such a list of names is called a Series. 

How are the names in the series in the first 
sentence separated from one another? 

What words are used .in a series in the second 
sentence? How are they separated? 

Why are commas used after sweet and mellow 
in the third sentence? 

Words or groups of words used in a series 
should be separated by commas. 


124 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


102. Written Exercise. 

Copy or write from dictation the following sen¬ 
tences, inserting commas where they are needed: 

(1) You will need pen ink and paper. 

(2) Once I saw a little bird come hop hop hop. 

(3) The New England states are Maine New Hampshire 
Vermont Massachusetts Rhode Island and Connecticut. 

(4) Lady Bug Lady Bug fly away home. 

(5) They will tear my flesh put out my eyes and pierce 
my heart. 

(6) Brother Rabbit fell in the brambles leaped to his feet 
and began to laugh. 

(7) He sat down pulled his beard scratched his head and 
tapped himself on the forehead. 

(8) The shrill piercing long-drawn notes of a horn echoed 
through the mountains. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

All-endearing cleanliness, 

Virtue next to godliness, 

Easiest, cheapest, needful’st duty, 

To the body, health, and beauty; 

Who that’s human would refuse it, 

When a little water does it ? 

— Charles and Mari/ Lamb. 


II. 

’Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, 

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home ; 

A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, 

Which sought through the world is ne’er met with else¬ 
where. —John Howard Payne . 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


125 



1872 CALLING THE FERRYMAN. Knight. 


Section XXXIX. CARTING THE FERRYMAN. 

Do you think the ferryman has seen the 
women? Where have they been? Where are 
they going? 

What time of day is it? How do you know it 
is not noon? Why would not the picture have 
been as pretty if it had been painted at noon? 

What colors do you think the artist has used 
in the painting? 

Is the scene laid in our own country? Why 
do you think so ? 

Have you ever seen a ferry like this? If so, 
where was it? Tell your classmates about it. 


126 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


103. Written Exercise. 

Tell the story of this picture in two paragraphs. 
In the first describe the landscape / in the second tell 
about the characters. Use one or two comparisons 
to make your description beautiful. 


Memory Gem. 

Full many a gem of purest ray serene 

The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear; 
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 

And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 

— Thomas Gray. 


Section XE. THE HYPHEN. 

It often happens in writing and printing that 
there is not room near the end of a line for the 
whole of the next word. If the next word con¬ 
tains more than one syllable, it may be divided 
between syllables. When a word is thus divided, 
the mark - is used at the end of the line to show 
that the word is not complete. This mark is 
called a Hyphen. 

When a word is divided at the end of a line, a 
Hyphen should be used to show that the word is 
not complete. 

Words should be divided only between syl¬ 
lables. 

Words of only one syllable should never be 
divided. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


127 


104. Oral Exercise. 

Tell what words in the folloiving list should 
never he divided: 


Christmas 

bridge 

emperor 

offering 

switch 

realm 

guest 

apple 

behavior’ 

willing 

peach 

explosion 

happiness 

flower 

thrown 

gift 

quince 

sketch 

railroad 

bought 

narrative 


105 . 

Written Exercises. 

a. Find in this hook ten 

words which are 

divided at the end of a line. 

Copy them , separat- 

ing their syllables 

by hyphens. 


h. Separate the syllables of the folloiving words 

by using hyphens 



almost 

potato 

examination 

many 

beautiful 

forecastle 

gentle 

yesterday 

satisfaction 

fountain 

delicate 

literature 

duty 

moreover 

acceptable 

hungry 

balcony 

changeable 

teaspoon 

foundation 

solitary 


Memory Gem. 

Says the Man in the Moon, “ It’s a fine world there; ” 
But he wonders how it can please us 
To walk with our heads hanging down in the air— 

For that is the way that he sees us.— H. C. Bunner. 


128 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section XLI. LITERATURE STUR^ . 

Read the following poem : 

The Sandpiper. 

Across the narrow beach we flit, 

One little sandpiper and I; 

And fast I gather, bit by bit, 

The scattered driftwood bleached and dry. 

The wild waves reach their hands for it, 

The wild wind raves, the tide runs high, 

As up and down the beach we flit, 

One little sandpiper and I. 

Above our heads the sullen clouds 
Scud black and swift across the sky; 

Like silent ghosts in misty shrouds 
Stand out the white lighthouses high. 

Almost as far as eye can reach 
I see the close-reefed vessels fly, 

As fast we flit along the beach, 

One little sandpiper and I. 

1 watch him as he skims along, 

Uttering his sweet and mournful cry; 

He starts not at my fitful song, 

Or flash of fluttering drapery. 

He has no thought of any wrong, 

He scorns me with a fearless eye; 

Stanch friends are we, well tried and strong, 
The little sandpiper and I. 

Comrade, where wilt thou be to-night 
When the loosed storm breaks furiously? 

My driftwood fire will burn so bright ! 

To what warm shelter canst thou fly? 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


129 


I do not fear for thee, though wroth 
The tempest rushes through the sky, 

For are we not God’s children both, 

Thou, little sandpiper, and I?— Celia Thaxter. 

106. Interpretation. 

Who is speaking ? 

What lines in the first and second stanzas 
tell you a storm is coming on ? What lines call 
up pretty pictures to you? Which are the 
descriptive words in these lines? 

Why are the clouds called “sullen”? What 
is the meaning of “ scud ” ? of “ close-reefed ” ? 

What is it about this little bird that pleases us? 

Why does the poet call him comrade ? 

What contrast in the last stanza makes us 
feel his helplessness ? 

What is the thought in the last four lines ? 

107. Oral Exercises. 

a. Describe in your own words the place where 
Mrs. Thaxter saw the sandpiper , and tell ivhat 
other things could be seen there. 

b. Describe a sandpiper carefully, so that your 
classmates would know one if they should see it. 

108. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the eight lines of “ The Sandpiper ” that 
you like best. 

b. Write in your own words a description of the 
meeting of Mrs. Thaxter and the sandpiper. 

c. Write a description of a sandpiper. 


130 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section XRII. PARAGRAPHS. 

You have already learned that sentences in 
stories and other prose writing are separated 
into groups. To-day we are to look more closely 
into the nature of these groups. 


100. Conversation. 

Into how many groups of sentences is the se¬ 
lection on page 104 divided ? What is the first 
group about ? the second ? the third ? 

How is the beginning of a new group indi¬ 
cated ? 

A group of sentences relating to the same 
part of a subject is called a Paragraph. 

The purpose of dividing prose writing into 
paragraphs is to help the reader to grasp the 
divisions of the writer’s thought. 

The beginning of a new paragraph should be 
indicated by writing the first word on a new 
line, and farther to the right. 

110. Oral Exercises. 

a. Into how many paragraphs is u Androcles 
and the Hon ” divided? What is the subject of the 
first paragraph? of the second? of the third? 

h. Examine the selection on page 107 , and tell 
how a conversation is divided into paragraphs. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


131 


111 . Written Exercise. 

Describe in tivo paragraphs some building , so 
that the first paragraph will tell how it looks from a 
distance ,* the second how it looks when you enter it. 

Memory Gem. 

If I were a cobbler, I would make it my pride 
The best of all cobblers to be; 

If I were a tinker, no tinker beside 
Should mend an old kettle like me. 

—A nonymous. 


SUMMARY OF CHAPTER II. 

A period (.) should be placed at the end of every 
sentence that tells something, and after every initial 
and abbreviation. 

An interrogation point (?) should be placed at the 
end of every sentence that asks a question. 

The exclamation point (!) should be placed after 
every sentence that exclaims. 

The comma (,) should be used to separate the 
different parts of a date. 

When a name is used to denote ownership or 
possession, an apostrophe and s should be added 
unless the word already ends in s. 

In contractions the place of omitted letters should 
be marked by an apostrophe. 

When the exact words of a speaker are repeated, 
they should be enclosed in quotation marks. 

A quotation should be begun with a capital letter 
and be separated from other parts of the same sen¬ 
tence by a comma, unless an interrogation point or 
an exclamation point already occupies the place. 


132 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


When a quotation is divided by other words, each 
part should be enclosed by quotation marks. 

The words that divide a quotation should be 
cut off by commas. 

The name of the person addressed should be sep¬ 
arated from the rest of the sentence by commas. 

Words or groups of words used in a series should 
be separated by commas. 

When a word is divided at the end of a line, a 
hyphen should be used to show that the word is 
not complete. 

Words should be divided only between syllables. 

Words of one syllable should never be divided. 

Sentences relating to the same part of a subject 
should be grouped together. 

The first word of a new paragraph should be 
written on a new line, and farther to the right. 

' SUPPLEMENTARY WORK. 

112 . Oral Exercises. 

a. Choose sides for a debate , and then debate the 
question whether it is easier to study in school 
titan at home. 

b. Tell a story of how a mast felt as it sailed by 
the point on which it grew. 

c. Tell what you think about the Usefulness of 
Dogs. Arrange your thoughts in some such order 
as the following: 

(1) To householders. (4) To hunters. 

(2) To shepherds. (5) To children. 

(3) To travelers. (6) To fanners. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


133 


d. Read the following story: 

The Lion and the Mouse. 

A lion, tired with the chase, lay sleeping at full length 
under a shady tree. Some mice, playing in the woods, 
scrambled over his nose and woke him. Laying his paw 
upon one of them, the lion was about to eat it when the 
mouse begged piteously to be let go, saying, “ If you let me 
go, I shall not forget you.” The lion smiled to think of 
the little mouse ever doing anything for him, but he let 
it go. 

Sometime afterward the lion was caught in a net laid by 
some hunters. Unable to free himself by his mighty strug¬ 
gles, he made the forest resound with his roars. Presently 
a little mouse appeared, and began to gnaw the cords, cut¬ 
ting first one and then another with its sharp little teeth. 
In a few moments the lion was free. “ I have learned,” 
said he, “that little friends may become great friends.” 

Which 'part of the story is treated in the first 
paragraph ? in the second ? 

Tell the story in your own words. 

e. Give a reason for each of the punctuation 
metrics used in the following sentences: 

(1) Welcome, wild Northeaster! 

(2) “Good-day, Mistress Crow,” said the fox. 

(3) A boy’s will is the wind’s will. 

(4) “ How ? ” cried the Mayor, “ d’ye think I’ll brook 
Being worse treated than a cook ? ” 

(5) Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island, and Connecticut form the North Atlantic 
States. 


134 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


113. Written Exercises. 

a. Make a list *of the contractions in the poem 
on page 21, and opposite each contraction write the 
words for which it stands. 

b. Copy the following lines, place quotation 
marks around the quotations , and insert commas 
where they are needed: 

I. 

Some little mice sat in a barn to spin. 

Pussy came by and popped her head in. 

Shall I come in and cut your threads off? 

Oh! no kind sir you will snap our heads off. 

II. 

Once I saw a little bird 
Come hop hop hop. 

So I cried Little bird 
Will you stop stop stop ? 

c. Copy or write from dictation the following: 

Just before the battle of Thermopylae, a Spartan soldier 
came and reported to his commander that the Persians were 
so numerous that their clouds of arrows would darken the 
sun. “So much the better," said Leonidas, “for we shall 
then fight in the shade." 

d. Write the following from dictation : 

(1) In rushed a stout old nurse from the next room, and 
seeing Tom likewise, made up her mind that he had come 
to rob, plunder, destroy, and burn. 

(2) And he had not been in the stream two minutes 
before he fell fast asleep into the quietest, sunniest, cosiest 
sleep that ever he had had in his life. 

—Charles Kingsley. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


135 


e. Copy the following selections , inserting com¬ 
mas where they are needed: 

(1) Great rats small rats lean rats brawny rats 
Brown rats black rats gray rats tawny rats 
Grave old plodders gay young friskers 
Fathers mothers uncles cousins 
Brothers sisters husbands wives 
Followed the piper for their lives. 

(2) Hedge ditch meadow field and even the very paths 
and highways are set thick with primroses. 

f. Copy or write from dictation the following: 

The honey-bee’s great ambition is to be rich, to lay up 
great store, to possess the sweets of every flower that 
blooms. She is more than provident. Enough will not 
satisfy her. She must have all she can get by hook or by 
crook. She comes from the oldest country, Asia, and 
thrives best in the most fertile and long-settled lands.— 
John Burroughs. 

g. Write one of the Oral Exercises . 

h. Draw the picture which is suggested to your 
mind by the following description; 

Ichabod was a suitable figure for such a steed. He rode 
with short stirrups, which brought his knees nearly up to 
the pommel of the saddle ; his sharp elbows stuck out like 
a grasshopper’s; he carried his whip perpendicularly -in 
his hand, like a scepter, and as the horse jogged on the 
motion of his arms was not unlike the flapping of wings. 
A small wool hat rested on the top of his nose, for so his 
scanty strip of forehead might be called, and the skirts of 
his black coat fluttered out almost to the horse’s tail. 

— Washington Irving. 


136 MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 

i. Copy or writs from dictation the following 
selection: 

I find I see, almost without effort, nearly every bird 
within sight in the field or wood I pass through (a flit of the 
wing, a flirt of the tail are enough, though the flickering 
leaves do all conspire to hide them). You must have the 
bird in your heart before you can find it in the bush. The 
eye must have purpose and aim. No one ever yet found 
walking fern who did not have the walking fern in his mind. 
A person whose eye is full of Indian relics picks them up 
in every field he walks through.— John Burroughs. 

j. Tell in writing why you would rather live in 
the city than in the country , or rather live in the 
country than in the city. 

Jc. Copy and learn the following sentences: 

(1) Lost time is never found again. 

(2) Late lies the wintry sun a-becl- 

(3) Life is not so short but that there is always time 
enough for courtesy. — Ralph Waldo Emerson. 


1. Write a paragraph or two on one of the fol¬ 
lowing subjects: 


(1) Early morning in the 

country. 

(2) Early morning in the 

city. 

(3) By the brook. 

(4) On the seashore. 

(5) A visit to the pond. 

(6) A visit to a factory. 


(;) The White Giant 
(steam). 

(8) Some bird. 

(9) Autumn. 

(ro) A trick that succeeded, 
(n) How the game was 
won. 

(12) A beautiful dress. 


RULES FOR PUNCTUATION 


137 


m. Write these sentences , filing each blank with 
the word you think best suited for it: 

(1) The trees in the forest- in the storm, 

(2) See how the swallows- round the chimney ! 

(3) -! -! went the bell of the fire-engine. 

(4) The branches --in the breeze. 

(5) Do you hear the leaves -as the wind passes by ? 

(6) -runs the water where the brook is deep. 

n. Describe some person well known to the rest 
of the class , using as many paragraphs as there 
are parts to your description. Do not use names , 
but let the class recognize the person from your de¬ 
scription. 

114. Oral and Written Exercise. 

Talk with your teacher about horses. Write 
your thoughts about the useful/ness of horses. Ar¬ 
range your thoughts in the following order: 

I. What Horses do for Men. 

(1) For the farmer. (3) For the manufacturer. 

(2) For the merchant. (4) For the traveler. 

II. What Men in Return should do for Horses. 

(1) Food. (4) Harness. 

(2) Care of coat. (5) Driving. 

(3) Rest. (6) Loads. 

When this exercise is written , there should be at 
least two paragraphs corresponding to the two main 
decisions of the subject. 









Chapter III 


Common Errors 


Section XEIII. SOME WORDS NOT IN GOOD USE. 

Nearly all of us would like to imitate culti¬ 
vated people in our dress, manners, and language: 
We cannot all imitate them in dress, but man¬ 
ners are free to everybody ; and if we take a 
little pains, we can all learn to talk like culti¬ 
vated people. Let us begin to-day . 1 

Here, in the column marked “ Wrong,” are 
some words which cultivated people do not use. 
They use instead the words set opposite in the 
column marked “ Right:” 

o 


Wrong 

Right 

Wrong 

Right 

ain’t 

isn’t, aren’t 

them 

theirs 

I ain’t 

I’m not 

yourn 

yours 

h ain’t 

hasn’t, haven’t 

to home 

at home 

’tain’t 

it isn’t 

everywheres 

everywhere 

hern 

hers 

somevvheres 

somewhere 

hisn 

his 




1 To the Teacher .—It is expected that the lessons in this chapter will be 
distributed through the year, as the needs of pupils or the requirements of 
the course of study suggest, and that they will be frequently repeated. 



COMMON ERRORS 


139 


1X5. Oral Exercises. 

а. Explain to your classmates how to play some 
out-of-door game that you like. Think what they 
should he told first, what next, and where you 
must stop to explain. If you need to use any of 
the expressions given above, he sure that you use 
those in the column marked “Right.” 

h. Use each of the forms marked u Right ” in a 
question or saying of your own. 

116. Written Exercise. 

Copy the following sentences, filling in the 
blank with the right word from the column marked 
“Right:”' 

i. Mary -come yet. 

2. The robins-gone south yet. 

3. -- you ashamed of yourself? 

4. - that your book ? 

5. No, it-mine. 

б. Carrie says it isn’t-. 

7. Henry says it is -. 

8. I have lost my knife ; please lend me-. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

Sleep, soldiers! still in honored rest 
Your truth and valor wearing ; 

The bravest are the tenderest,— 

The loving are the daring.— Bayard Taylor. 

1 To the Teacher. —In order that both eye and ear may be trained to correct 
forms of expression, it is a good plan, after the blanks in this and similar 
exercises have been filled, to write on the board such sentences as give pupils 
trouble, and to have Riem read aloud again and again. 










140 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


II. 

Behind him lay the gray Azores, 

Behind the gates of Hercules; 

Before him not a glimpse of shores, 

Before him only shoreless seas. 

The good mate said, “ Now must we pray, 

For lo, the very stars are gone: 

Brave Admiral, speak—what shall I say ? ” 

“ Why say, ‘ sail on ! sail on ! sail on ! * ” 

Then pale and worn he kept his deck 

And peered through darkness.—Ah, that Night 

Of all dark nights !—And then—a speck !— 

A light ! a light ! a light! a light!— 

It grew : a starlit flag unfurled ! 

It grew to be time’s burst of Dawn. 

He gained a world : he gave that world 
Its greatest lesson,—on ! and on ! 

“ Columbus—Joaquin Miller . 


Section XEIV. IS AND ARE. 

Head the following sentences: 

1. Reginald is at home. 

2. Reginald and Helen are at home. 

3. My hand is cold. 

4. My hands are cold. 

5. Annie, where are you going ? 

6. Girls, where are you going? 


COMMON ERRORS 


141 


117. Conversation. 

How many persons are spoken of in the first 
sentence? in the second? In speaking of one 
person, do we use is or are? In speaking of 
more than one, which word is used? 

Why does the third sentence have is? Why 
is are used in the fourth sentence? 

In sentences of our own, when should we use 
is? When should we use are? 

How many persons does you mean in the fifth 
sentence? in the sixth? Which word is'used 
with you in both sentences, is or are? 

Is should be used in speaking of one person or 
thing. 

Are should he used in speaking of more than 
one. But are should always be used with you , 
whether it means one or more than one. 

118. Oral Exercises. 

a. Learn by heart the following sentences so that 
you can say them in order fast: 

I am well We are well 

You are well You are well 

He is well They are well 

b. Fill each blank below with the proper word 
(is, are): 

(1) The United States-the only country with a known 

birthday. — James G-. Hctine. 

(2) Springlets in the dawn-streaming. 

Diamonds on the brake-gleaming.— Scott. 




142 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


c. Read aloud the following paragraphs, filling 
each blank with the proper word (is, are ): 

The winter burrows of the field mice-usually five or 

six inches below the surface, but sometimes they-simply 

hollowed out under a great stone. They-remarkable 

for the numerous chambers and side passages of which 

they-composed. In one of the largest rooms of this 

subterranean house-placed their winter bed, formed of 

fine, dry grasses. Its shape and size-about that of a foot¬ 
ball. It has a small cavity in the center, which-entered 

through a hole in the side. The mice creep in as do Arctic 
travelers into their fur-bags. 

Here five or six young mice- born, and stay until the 

coming of warm weather, by which time they- grown, 

and go out to take care of themselves. 

In the deepest part of the burrow-placed the store of 

provisions for parents and little ones: seeds, roots, small 

nuts, wheat, and rye. All these stores-carried to the 

burrows, often from long distances, in their baggy cheeks, 
which-the mice’s pockets.— Ernest Ingersoll. 

119. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy as many of the following sentences as 
the teacher may direct, filling each blank with the 
proper word (is, are) : 

(1) The glad birds-singing. 

(2) -your parents at home? 

(3) Where -you, mother? 

(4) Now the sun-laid to sleep .—Ben Jonson. 

(5) The memory of the just-blessed. 

(6) Wounds made by words-hard to heal. 

(7) Better-half a loaf than no bread —John Hey- 

icood. 

















COMMON ERRORS 


143 


b. Use is or ore in a sentence about each of the 
following: 

Soap bubbles The sky Autumn leaves Clocks 

My eyes Spiders The grass The wind 

c . Copy the first paragraph in the third Oral 
Exercise , filling each blank with the proper word: 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

Life is real! life is earnest! 

And the grave is not its goal ; 

Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

Was not spoken of the soul. 

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

II. 

Woodman, spare that tree ! 

Touch not a single bough ! 

In youth it sheltered me, 

And I’ll protect it now. 

— George P. Morris. 

Section XLY. WAS AND WERE. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. The maid was in the garden. 

2. The king and queen were in the palace. 

3. There was a little man, and he had a little 
gun. 

4. H is bullets were made of lead. 

5. Where were you, Carrie ? 

6. Where were you, children ? 


144 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


120. Conversation. 

How many persons are spoken of in the first 
sentence ? in the second ? In speaking of one 
person, do we use was or were? In speaking 
of more than one, which word is used ? 

Why does the third sentence have was ? Why 
is were used in the fourth sentence ? 

How many persons does you mean in the fifth 
sentence ? in the sixth ? Which word is used 
with you in both sentences, was or were? 

Was should be used in speaking of one person 
or thing. 

Were should be used in speaking of more than 
one. 

But were should always he used with you, 
whether it means one or more than one. 


121. Oral Exercises. 

a, Learn the following sentences so that you can 
say them in order fast: 


I was there. 

You were there. 
He was there. 


We were there. 
You were there. 
They were there 


b. Use teas or were in a sentence about each of 
the following things: 


The trees 
The dandelions 


A horse 
You 


Chestnuts 
My fingers 


COMMON ERRORS 


145 


c. Read the following sentences aloud\ filling 
each blank with the proper word {was, were) : 

(1) The meadow-dotted with daisies. 

(2) Alice and Ethel-playing tennis. 

(3) Butterflies-dancing in the sunlight. 

(4) There- three crows sat on a tree. 

(5) -you frightened, Annie? 

(6) He-a good man, and a just. 

(7) -the horses shod to-day ? 

(8) -the grapes ripe ? 

(9) There- an owl lived in an oak 

(10) Where-you, John? 

(n) Blue - her eyes as the fairy flax.— Henry Wads¬ 

worth Longfellow. - 

(12) The stars -dim, and thick the night.— Samuel 

Taylor C.oleridge. 

(13) Here - forests ancient as the hills.— Samuel 

Taylor Coleridge. 

(14) There - never yet fair woman but she made 

mouths in a glass.— William Shakespeare. 


122 . Written Exercises. 

a. Write the second Oral Exercise. 

b. Copy the sentences in the third Oral Exercise , 
filling each blank with the proper word. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

The soft blue sky did never melt 
Into his heart ; he never felt 
The witchery of the soft blue sky! 

— William Wordsworth, 















146 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


II. 

The eyes of spring, so azure, 

Are peeping from the ground; 

They are the darling violets 

That I in nosegays bound.— Heinrich Heine. 

Section XTVI. IIAS AND HAVE. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. The bird has flown away. 

2. The birds have flown away. 

3. Henry and Gilbert have come back. 

4. Ethel has not been here. 

5. I have a new-born sister. 

6. Robert, have you finished your lesson ? 

123. Conversation. 

How many things are spoken of in the first 
sentence? In the second? In speaking of one 
thing which word do we use, has or have? 
Which do we use in speaking of more than one ? 

Why does the third sentence use have? Why 
is has used in the fourth ? 

Which word is used with I in the fifth sen¬ 
tence ? 

How many persons are meant by you in the 
sixth sentence ? Which word is used with you? 

Has should be used in speaking of one person 
or thing. 

Have should be used in speaking of more than 
one. 

But have should always be used with I and 
yon. 


COMMON ERRORS 


147 


124. Oral Exercises. 

a. Learn the following sentences so that you can 
say them fast: 

I have come. We have come. 

You have come. You have come. 

It has come. • They have come. 

1 ). Lead the following lines aloud, filling each 
Hank with the proper word {has, have): 

A pin-a head, but-no hair ; 

A clock-a face, but no mouth there; 

Needles-eyes, but they cannot see ; 

A fly-a trunk without lock or key ; 

A timepiece may lose, but cannot win ; 

A cornfield dimples without a chin ; 

A hill-no leg, but-a foot ; 

A wine-glass a stem, but not a root; 

A watch-hands, but no thumb or finger; 

A boot-a tongue, but is no singer ; 

Rivers run, though they- no feet; 

A saw-teeth, but it does not eat ; 

Ash-trees-keys, yet never a lock; 

And baby crows, without being a cock. 

— Christina G. Rossetti. 


c. Make a sentence about each of the following 
things , using has or have: 


A squirrel 
Squirrels 
A wren 
Buttercups 


Carpenters 
Masons 
An oak 
A clock 


A wolf 
Meadows 
Rivers 
George 


Houses 
The sea 
Shells 

Clara and Edith 














148 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


125. Written Exercise. 

Copy as many of the following sentences as 
the teacher may direct, filling each blank with the 
proper word (has, have :) 

(1) The girl - gone away. 

(2) The girls-been busy. 

(3) George Rockwell and his sister Louise - a Scotch 

collie. 

(4) All insects-six legs. 

(5) A bird - two wings. 

(6) Ba-a, ba-a, black sheep-you any wool? 

(7) I -been to the top of the hill. 

(8) -you ever heard the wind go “ YOOOOO”? 

(9) Allan-a-dale-no fagot for burning.— Sir Walter 

Scott. 

(10) Since then I -toiled day and night. 

(ri) The moon - a face like the clock in the hall. 

(12) Where-- you been, my Mary ? 

Section XLVII. DID AND DONE. 

Learn the following sentences so that you can 
say them in order rapidly: 

1. Do your work well. 

2. I did my work well. 

3. He has done his work well. 

4. They have done their work well. 

Which word is used in speaking of past time, 
do or did? After what words is done used ? 

Did should be used in speaking of past time. 
Done should be used after has and have. 














COMMON ERRORS 


149 


126. Oral Exercise, 

Read the following sentences , filling each blank 
with the proper word ( do , did, done): 

(1) Who-this? 

(2) Laura and Clifford -it 

(3) Have you-your lesson ? 

(4) Yes, I -it this morning. 

(5) He-all the good he could. 

(6) Are you sure that Margaret-as well as she could ? 

(7) Ask her why she-it. 

(8) You know that you - it. 

( 9 ) - noble things, not dream them— Charles Kingsley 

(10) Thou canst not say I-it.— William Shakespeare. 

(11) He has-his lessons. 

(12) We have-as well as we could. 


127. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the sentences in the Oral Exercise , filling 
each blank with the proper word. 

b. Write a sentence in which you use do. 

c. Write a sentence in which you use done. 

d. Write five sentences in which you use did. 

Memory Gem. 

God moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perform; 

He plants his footsteps on the sea 
And rides upon the storm. 

— William Cowper ♦ 


150 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section XEVIII. GIVE AND GAVE. 

Read the following sentences: 

r. The stars give faint light. 

2. This morning my father gave me a new pencil. 

3. Please give it to me. 

4. The prince never gave his father grief. 
Which word is used in speaking of present 

time, give or gave? 

Which is used in speaking of past time ? 

Give should be used in speaking of present 
time. 

Gave should be used in speaking of past time. 

128. Oral Exercise. 

Read the following sentences aloud, filling each 
blank with the proper word {give, gave): 

(1) Yesterday Charlie-Elizabeth some chestnuts. 

(2) Where did you get this? Edgar --it to me. 

(3) Who- it to him ? 

(4) I think Aunt Mary-it to him. 

129. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the sentences in the Oral Exercise, filling 
each blank with the proper word. 

b. Write a sentence in which you use give. 

c. Write five sentences in which you use gave. 

Memory Gem. 

Bright summer comes along the sky, 

And paints the glowing year ; 

Where’er we turn the raptured eye, 

Her splendid tints appear.— Leigh Hunt . 


COMMON ERRORS 


151 


Section XLIX. SEE, SAW, AND SEEN. 

Learn the following sentences so that you can 
say them in order rapidly: 

1. I see him now. 

2. I saw him yesterday. 

3. I have seen him often. 

4. He has seen me often. 

Which word is used in speaking of present 
time, see, or saw ? in speaking of past time? 
Which word is used after have and has? 

See should be used in speaking of present time. 
Saw should be used in speaking of past time. 
Seen should be used after has or have. 

130. Oral Exercise. 

Read the following sentences , filling each blank 
with the proper word (see, sawseen ) : 

(1) I -- him an hour ago. 

(2) That is the best dog I ever-. 

(3) Charlie says he-two tramps near the barn. 

(4) To-her was to love her. 

(5) The man tried to hide, but a policeman- him. 

(6) Once I-a little bird. 

131. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the sentences in the Oral Exercise, filling 
each blank with the proper word. 

b. Write a sentence in which you use see. 

c. Wr ite five sentences in which you use saw. 

d. Write a sentence in which you use seen. 


152 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section X,. MAY AND CAN. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. May I leave the room? 

2. Can you speak German ? 

Which word is used in asking permission, may 

or can? 

What does can mean? 

3Iay should be used to denote permission. 

Can should be used to denote ability or possi¬ 
bility. 

132. Oral Exercise. 

Read the following sentences, filling each blank 
with the 'proper word: 

(1) - I use your sled? 

(2) You- look on my book. 

(3) -you skate ? 

(4) Mother says I- have a birthday party. 

(5) Grace-go with us, if she wishes. 

(6) - I write at your desk ? 

(7) -you tell me who lives here? 

(8) You-come to see me whenever you- find 

time. 

(9) Mother,- I invite the girls to tea? 

(10) When-we go to the woods? 

(11) - I go with you, my pretty maid? 

(12) - I leave school at two o’clock? 

(13) You-go if you - finish your work by two 

o’clock. 


COMMON ERRORS 


153 


133. Written Exercises. 

a. Write the sentences, in the Oral Exercise, fill¬ 
ing each, blank with the proper word 

h. Write two sentences in which you use can. 

c. Write two sentences in which you use may. 

d. Copy and learn the following poem: 

For the tender beech and the sapling oak, 

That grow by the shadowy rill, 

You may cut down both at a single stroke, 

You may cut down which you will. 

But this you must know, that as long as they grow, 
Whatever change may be, 

You can never teach either oak or beech 
To be aught but a greenwood tree. 

— Thomas Love Peacock. 


Section El. THEM AND THOSE. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. Look at those soldiers. 

2. Let us run after them. 

Which word, those or them, is used in these 
sentences with the name of something following? 
Which word is used by itself, without the name 
of something following? 

Them should not be used for those along with 
the name of something. 

The following sentence is wrong, “ Look at 
them birds.” What ought it to be? 


454 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


134. Oral Exercise. 

Read the following sentences , filling each blank 
with the proper word (those, them) : 

(1) Where did you get -apples ? 

(2) Charlotte gave-to me. 

(3) Please take up-ashes. 

(4) - clothes are to go to the laundry. 

(5) Look out for-dogs. 

(6) I am not afraid of-■. 

(7) -scissors cost fifty cents. 

(8) What are you going to do with-sticks ! 

(9) I am going to burn-up. 

(10) What are-things you have in your hand ? 


135. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the sentences in the Oral Exercise , filling 
each blank with the proper word. 

b. Write five sentences in which you use those. 

c. Write a sentence in which you use them . 


Memory Gems. 

I. 

Breathes there the man with soul so dead, 

Who never to himself hath said, 

“This is my own, my native land! ” 

Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, 

As home his footsteps he hath turned, 

From wandering on a foreign strand ! 

—Sir Walter Scott . 








COMMON ERRORS 


155 


II. 

Under the greenwood tree 
Who loves to lie with me, 

And tune his merry note 
Unto the sweet bird’s throat,— 

Come hither, come hither, come hither! 

Here shall we see 
No enemy 

But winter and rough weather. 

Who doth ambition shun 
And loves to live i’ the sun, 

Seeking the food he eats 

And pleased with what he gets— 

Come hither, come hither, come hither! 

Here shall he see 
No enemy 

But winter and rough weather. 

— William Shakespeare. 


Section MI. HEARN AND TEACH. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. How did you learn to swim ? 

2. My brother taught me. 

Which word means “ to acquire knowledge or 
skill”? Which word means “to impart knowl¬ 
edge or skill ” ? 

Learn means “ to acquire knowledge.” 

Teach means “ to impart knowledge.” 


156 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


136. Oral Exercise. 

Head the following sentences, filling each blank 
with the proper word (learn, learns, learned; teach, 
teaches, taught): 

(1) Who - you to read? 

(2) My Aunt Carrie- me. 

(3) When did Blanche-to write? 

(4) She-last year. 

(5) Who -you that trick? 

(6) My brother- me that trick yesterday. 

(7) This should-you a lesson. 

(8) Nature -beasts to know their friends. 


137. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the sentences in the Oral Exercise, filling 
each blank icith the proper word. 

b. Write two sentences in which you use learn, 

learns, or learned. 

c. Write two sentences in which you use teach, 

teaches, or taught. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

No man e’er felt the halter draw, 

With good opinion of the law. 

—John Trumbull. 

II. 

Wise men read very sharply all your private history in 
your look and gait and behavior.— Ralph Waldo Emerson. 



COMMON ERRORS 


157 


Section Dili. LEAVE AND LET. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. Please let me go. 

2. I will not leave you here. 

Which word, let or leave , is used in the sense 
of “permit”? Which is used in the sense of 
“ go away from ” ? 

Let means “ to permit.’ , 

Leave means “to go away from.” 

138. Oral Exercise. 

Read the following sentences, filling each blank, 
with the proper word (let, leave) : 

(1) Pharaoh said, “I will -you go.” 

(2) -the beggar in. 

(3) Will you- me use your sled? 

U) -go I 

(5) Do not- me alone. 

(6) I will-you know my answer to-morrow. 

(7) Please- me get out at the corner. 

139. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the sentences in the Oral Exercise, fill¬ 
ing each blank with the proper word: 

b. Write two sentences in which you use let, 
and two in which you use leave. 

Memory Gem. 

The world’s a theater, the earth a stage 
Which God and Nature do with actors fill. 

— Thomas Ileywood. 








158 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section LIT. SIT, SAT, AND SET. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. We sit in the front row. 

2. We sat there yesterday. 

3. Please set the pitcher on the bench. 

Which words, sit, sat , or set are used to denote 
“ having a seat”? Which word is used in the 
sense of “ to place ” ? 

Sit and sat mean “to have a seat.” 

Set means “ to place.” 

140. Oral Exercises. * 

a. Read the following sentences , filling each 
blank with the proper icord {sit, sat, set) : 

(1) Let us-down. 

(2) We- on the piazza. 

(3) Please-the lamp on the table. 

(4) I have-in this seat for a week. 

(5) The Curtises-in the front pew. 

(6) Negro women in the South often-their baskets 

on their heads. 

(7) Agnes would-by the hour listening to stories. 

(8) Please - still. 

(9) Father was — : —ting by the window. 

(10) He had-there all evening. 

b. Read the sentences in the first Written Exer¬ 
cise ,, filling each blank with the proper word. 







COMMON ERRORS 


159 


141. Written Exercises. 

a . Copy the folloiving sentences , filling each 

blank with the proper word (sit, sat , ; 

(1) -down and talk a while. 

(2) I-the basket under a tree. 

(3) We-on the rug and told stories. 

(4) In which seat do you-? 

(5) Have you-there long? 

(6) Yesterday Horace - in the sand all morning? 

(7) Let us-here. 

(8) The nurses often have to-up all night. 

(9) I have-the chair behind the door. 

b. Copy the sentences in the first Oral Exercise, 
filling each blank with the proper word. 

c. Write two sentences in which you use sit; 
two in which you use sat; one in which you 

use set. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

We sit in the warm shade and feel right well; 

How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell; 

We may shut our eyes, but we cannot help knowing 
That skies are clear and grass is growing. 

—James Russell Lowell. 

II. 

How fleet is a glance of the mind! 

Compared with the speed of its flight 
The tempest itself lags behind, 

And the swift-winged arrows of light. 

— William Cowper. 












100 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section LV. DIE AND DAY. 

Read the following sentences : 

1. Lie still. 

2. Lay the book down. 

Which word means “to recline”? Which 
means “ to cause to lie ” or “ to put ” ? 

Lie means “to recline.” 

Lay means “to cause to lied ’ 1 


142. Oral Exercise. 

In the following sentences fill each blank with 
the proper word (lie, lay): 

(1) She-s down an hour every day. 

(2) The cows-down in the heat of the day. 

(3) -your hat on the chair. 

(4) -down and rest a while. 

(5) I was so tired that I had to-down. 

(6) You had better- your bundle down and rest. 

(7) I will-it down at the next turn. 

(8) I will-down after dinner. 

(9) Let him- there. 

(10) France -s north of Spain. 

(n) Hush, my dear,-still and slumber. 

(12) He told me not to-on the grass. 

(13) She told him to-the scissors on the table. 

(14) -still until I return. 

1 To the Teacher. —The distinction between lay and laid , the past tenses of 
lie and lay , is not given here, for fear of confusing young pupils. 

















COMMON ERRORS 


161 


143. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the sentences in the Oral Exercise , fil¬ 
ing each blank with the proper word. 

h. Write two sentences in which you use lie 9 and 
two in which you use lay . 

Memory Gem. 

You’d scarce expect one of my age 
To speak in public on the stage ; 

And if I chance to fall below 
Demosthenes or Cicero, 

Don’t view me with a critic’s eye, 

But pass my imperfections by. 

Large streams from little fountains flow, 

Tall oaks from little acorns grow. 

—David Everett. 


SUMMARY OF CHAPTER III. 

Is should be used in speaking of one person or 
thing. 

Are should be used in speaking of more than 
one. 

But are should always be used with you, 
whether it means one or more than one. 

Was should be used in speaking of one person or 
thing. 

Were should be used in speaking of more than 
one. 

But were should always be used with you, 
whether it means one or more than one. 

Has should be used in speaking of one person or 
thing. 


162 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Have should be used in speaking of more than 
one. 

But have should always be used with Zand you. 
Hid should be used in speaking of past time. 
Hone should be used after has and have. 

Give should be used in speaking of present time. 
Gave should be used in speaking of past time. 
See should be used in speaking of present time. 
Saw should be used in speaking of past time. 
Seen should be used after has or have. 

Them should not be used for those along with 
the name of something. 

May should be used to denote permission. 

Can should be used to denote ability or pos¬ 
sibility. 

Learn means “ to acquire knowledge.” 

Teach means “to impart knowledge.” 

Let means “to permit.” 

Leave means “to go away from.” 

Sit and sat mean “ to have a seat.” 

Set means “to place.” 

Lie means “to recline.” 

Lay means “to cause to lie.” 


To the Teacher .—If the language habits of the pupils make it desirable, the 
teacher can easily construct similar exercises to correct the following errors: 


went for gone 
come for came 
run for ran 
broke for broken 
wrote for written 
eat for eaten 
flew for flown 


tore for torn 

took for taken 

t hr owed for thrown 

groioed for grew or grown 

showed for shown 

blew for blown 

drove for driven 


COMMON ERRORS 


163 


THE CORRECTION OF COMMON ERRORS. 

The obstinate error which consists in using 
two or more negative words to strengthen a 
negative assertion can best be eradicated by 
watching the speech of pupils, correcting the 
error when it occurs, and frequently announcing 
the fact that, in modern English, two negative 
words in the same sentence cancel or destroy each 
other . 

In dealing with the problem of common er¬ 
rors, it is well to remember that a child learns 
the greater part of his English out of school by 
imitation of models—in the home, on the play¬ 
ground, perhaps on the street; and, to correct 
common errors, the school has work before it 
which cannot be accomplished in a few lessons. 
Pupils come to school with strong habits of 
speech already formed, which they have ac¬ 
quired from an environment that continues to 
surround them whenever they are not at school. 
If their habits of speech do not conform to cor¬ 
rect usage, the school must try to break down 
these bad habits of speech and substitute new 
and correct ones by frequent and repeated re¬ 
views of the material in Chapter III. Further¬ 
more, every lesson in history, geography, or any 
other subject, should be made a part of the chil¬ 
dren’s training in English. If this principle is 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


164 

not regarded, a recitation in history or geog¬ 
raphy may undo all that a set exercise in Eng¬ 
lish has accomplished. There is hardly an 
exercise in school that is not an English exer¬ 
cise, and no utterance and no writing should be 
acceptable that is not correct English. 

Additional help in eradicating commo.n er¬ 
rors is provided by Modern English Lessons 
and A Modern English Grammar in the 
strong emphasis laid on the subject of sentence- 
structure, before treating of the parts of speech. 
(S‘ee, for instance, Chapters V and VI.) To 
understand one reason for this, consider the na¬ 
ture of the difficulty which besets a child who is 
in doubt whether to say, “ What are you and lie 
doing ? ” or “ What are you and him doing? ” It 
is certain that what is troubling such a child’ is 
not any peculiarity in the forms lie and him. 
With these he has been familiar all his life, and 
he always says, without hesitation: “He came.” 
“We saw him” What is difficult to him is the 
relation of the word in question to the rest of 
the sentence. Make him know that it is one of 
the subjects of the verb, and he knows that the 
proper form is lie. He needs to be instructed, 
not so much in the parts of speech as in the way 
sentences are built. He needs to be made to 
distinguish the great fundamental relations of 
subject, verb, object, attribute complement, and 
modifier. 


COMMON ERRORS 


1G5 


Again, the authors wish to draw attention to 
the fact that the subjects treated in this book 
may be taken up in any order which seems best 
suited to the immediate needs of pupils. 





































































































































BOOK II 


LESSONS 

IN GRAMMAR, LITERATURE, AND 
COMPOSITION 


















































1 










































































A 








► 



















































































































































LETTER-WRITING 


169 


Chapter IV 
Letter-W riting 

Section GVT. THE FORM OF A LETTER. 

The most important kind of writing* to learn, 
because it is the kind most frequently used, is 
the writing of Letters. A business man often 
has to write forty or fifty letters a day; and 
absent friends like to write to one another. 
There are Letter Forms which are recognized 
as the best, and everyone should know these 
forms. A man must often be judged largely by 
his letters. If they are well and correctly written 
he is looked upon with favor, but if they are 
careless and slovenly in appearance a prejudice 
is at once aroused against him. 

Head carefully the letter on page 171 , and notice 
its different parts , the beginning, the body , and 
the end. 


To the Teacher .—It has been found stimulating in many schools to establish 
a correspondence between children in different rooms in the same building, or 
in different schools. Let children choose their own committee of correspond¬ 
ence, with whom the responsibility of writing the letter shall mainly rest ; but 
let the class hear the letters before they are sent, and suggest improvements. 
Letters sent through the mail will have the flavor of reality. 



170 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


144. Conversation. 

Which part of Donald’s letter shows where and 
when it was written ? Observe where the place 
and date are put, and how they are punctuated. 
Why is it important to put in the place and date? 

Which part of the letter shows to whom it is 
written ? What marks the beginning of this 
greeting ? the end ? 

Why is it desirable to use a complimentary 
close ( Your chum,') before the signature ? What 
other complimentary close might Donald have 
used ? 

The parts of Donald’s letter were arranged 
and written in the way deemed the best . 1 This 
way is further shown in the following form: 


House and Street- 

City, State- 


Date. 


Salutation. 


Message. 


Complimentary close.-. 

Signature- 


1 To the Teacher ,—Attention might be called to the fact that the date is 
sometimes placed at the! close of a friendly letter. 













LETTER-WRITING 


171 


jj It S \ajjX 

iLFadhimxfttori.D. C. 

^yruwJiifr is, iq 01 . 

Ojuxa, <3©m, 

Uk o At cpi/ru^ to- Kaxht AwJi 
& IoaA t kid o|teA/aooa, and cf Lopo ipao 
ca/n co mt ovtr and i/ajotp it untk ua TTVu-. 
Svatot Sxlort-dliompAoa Lo corrwYu^lo / 
ouA/ fiouAt to dj/rmsJb tty-rux^At, and fit fuxb 
pA mruMid to- comt juinly curul till ClvaAlit 
amxL m Aovat AtoAleA lilt a/it all cpimp' 
to-Ait ©atfit lecui 

d/acL aatfiMt Ld> j/uAtAxwrru |oront mxyutuie 
u/a/at i^oto tele that one. 

Bx- Moil a/act corat |ou/u. 

IjouA/ cJWra, 

DoriaicL 


172 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


145. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy Donald's letter to Tom. 

b. Write Tom's answer to Donald's letter, fol¬ 
lowing the correct form. 

c. Write an invitation to a friend , asking him 
to share some pleasure with you. 

d. Write a reply , accepting or declining the in¬ 
vitation. 


Memory Gems. 

I. 

If the oak is out before the ash, 

’Twill be a summer of wet and splash* 
But if the ash is before the oak, 

’Twill be a summer of fire and smoke. 


II. 

Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll! 

Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; 
Man marks the earth with ruin,—his control 
Stops with the shore. —Lord Byron. 


III. 

Life is an arrow—therefore you must know 
What mark to aim at, how to use the bow— 
Then draw it to the head and let it go! 

—ITenry Van Dyke. 


IV. 

Write it on -your heart that every day is the best day of 
the year.— Ralph Waldo Emerson. 


LETTER-WRITING 


m 


Section EYI1. 

LITERATURE STUDY. 

The following letter was 
written from Europe by 
t h e g reat p r each e r, P h i 11 i ps 
Brooks, Bishop of Massa¬ 
chusetts, to his little niece, 
who lived in the summer 
in North Andover: 

Hotel du Nord, Beilin, 

September io, 1882. 

Dear Gertie :— 

This is Sunday morning. It is just after break¬ 
fast, about a quarter before nine o’clock. In a shop win¬ 
dow on this street, I see a big clock every time I go out. 
It has seven faces, and each face tells what time it is in one 
of the great cities of the world. The one’ in the middle 
tells what time it is in Berlin, and all around that are the 
other great cities; it has not got North Andover ; it is not 
one of the great cities of the world; but it has New York. 
Yesterday, as I passed it about one o’clock, I saw that it 
was about five in New York, so I know now that it cannot 
be quite three in North Andover. You will not go to 
church for a good while yet, so you will have time enough 
to read my letter twice before you go. 

I came here last Wednesday, and am going to stay here 
for some time. In fact, I feel as if I lived in Berlin. I 
send you a picture of the house, with a line drawn around 
my two windows. The children at the door are not you 
and Agnes. I wish they were. 

The children in Paris all wore blouses, and the children 



PHILLIPS BROOKS. 



174 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


in Venice did not wear much of anything. Here they all 
wear satchels. I never saw such children for going to 
school. The streets are full of them, going and coming, all 
the time. They are queer little white-headed, blue-eyed 
things, many of them very pretty indeed, but they grow up 
into dreadful-looking men and women. They wear their 
satchels strapped on their backs like soldiers’ knapsacks, 
and when you see a schoolful of three hundred letting out, 
it is very funny. 

Only two houses up the street lives the Emperor. He 
and his wife are out of town now, or no doubt they would 
send some word to Toody. 

Affectionately your uncle, 

Phillips. 


146 . Interpretation. 

Do you think Gertie enjoyed this letter? 
Why do you think so? Let us see if we can 
learn from it how to make our letters interesting. 

Notice, first, that Gerties uncle told her about 
things he saw every day. He did not wait until 
something unusual had happened to him. 

Notice, in the second place, that he selected 
from the many things he saw in Berlin those 
things that he thought would most interest the 
person to whom he was writing. What cities do 
you think were on the other five faces of the 
clock? What other interesting things does the 
letter tell about? 

Notice, in the third place, that Gertie was 
pleasantly reminded that her uncle thought 
about her and longed to see her. Point out 


LETTER-WRITING 


175 


the things in the letter that show her uncle’s 
affection. 

Notice, finally , that her uncle talks to Gertie 
in his letter just as if she were sitting on his lap. 

Let us sum up the hints given in this letter: 

When writing a letter, 

1. Consider the person to whom you are 
writing. 

2. Tell about those things which you think 
will be interesting to your correspondent. 

3. Express freely what you feel and think, and 
write as you would talk. 

4. Try to show your friend your best and 
most entertaining side. 

147. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell in your own words wlmt you have learned 
oho ut Berlin f rom this letter. 

h. Ash three questions of your classmates about 
the writer of this letter. 

c. Have a conversation with your teacher about 
the climate in Manila and the customs of children 
who live there. Talk about the things that would 
seem strange to them if they should come to your 
State some winter morning. 

d. Choose a city you woidd like to visit, and tell 
all you can about it. 


176 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


148. Written Exercises. 

a. Write a letter describing something in the ■place 
you live , so that it mill be interesting to a little friend 
or cousin ivho has never seen it Try to follow 
Phillips Brooks's example; dioose something ordi¬ 
nary and try to see something extraordinary in it. 

b. Write a letter to some child in Manila, who has 
never been in a cold country, telling about some very 
cold morning inhere you live. I)escribe how things 
look , how people dress and act, what sounds are 
heard , and anything else you choose. 

c. W? dte a letter to each of the following persons: 

(1) Y.our father or mother. (3) Your physician. 

(2) A friend. (4) Your uncle. 

Memory Gem. 

Her voice was ever soft, 

Gentle and low,—an excellent thing in woman. 

— William Shakespeare. 


Section EVIII. ADDRESSES. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. Mr. Charles N. Wolf lives at 1312 North 
Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. 

2. St Nicholas is published by. the Century 
Company, Union Square, New York, N. Y. 

3. The greatest battle of the Civil War was 
fought at Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsyl¬ 
vania. 


LETTER-WRITING 


177 


149. Conversation. 

The name of a person, and the name of the 
place where he lives or does business, together 
are called his Address. 

How many different places are mentioned 
in the address of Mr. Wolf? How many in 
the address of the Century Company? How 
many in the sentence about the Civil War? 

Observe that the names of the different places 
in each address are separated by a comma. 

The comma which is used to separate the 
different parts of an address may be looked 
upon as taking the place of omitted words ; as : 

The Century Company [has its office at] 
Union Square [in] New York [in the State of] 
N. Y. 

In writing addresses, the names of States are 
usually abbreviated. 


150. Written Exercise. 

Copy or write from dictation the following 
addresses: 

(1) Mr. John R. Hall, 29 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. 

(2) Mrs. Henry Randolph, Stratford Hotel, Philadel¬ 
phia, Pa. 

(3) Miss Blanche Curtis, 1312 N Street, Washington, D. C. 

(4) Rev. W. L. Seabrook, Newberry, S. C. 

(5) Dr. J. C. Young, 964 Market Street, Newark, N. J. 

1 Sometimes the word address is used of the name of the place alone. 



178 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



/i' / ^ r °‘ • 

Section EIX. LITERATURE STUDY. 

The following letter was written by the fam¬ 
ous American actor, Edwin Booth : 

Booth’s Theater, 

New York, 

November 15th, 1871. 

My own dear Daughter :— 

I arrived here last night and found 
your pretty gift awaiting me. Your letter pleased me very, 






LETTER-WRITING 


179 


very much in every respect, and your little souvenir gave 
me far more delight than if it were of real gold. When 
you are older you will understand how precious little 
things—seemingly of no value in themselves—can be loved 
and prized above all price when they convey the love and 
thoughtfulness of a good heart. This little token of your 
desire to please me, my darling, is therefore very dear to 
me, and I will cherish it as long as I live. If God grants 
me so many years, I will show it you when you are a 
woman, and then you will appreciate my preference for so 
little a thing, made by you, to anything money might have 
bought. God bless you, my darling! 

I am going to see grandma to-day as soon as I get 
through my letters. 

God bless you again and again ! 

Your loving father, 

Edwin Booth. 

151. 1 interpretation. 

What can you learn from this letter about the 
great actor’s daughter? How old do you think 
she was? 

What do you think the gift was that she sent 
her father? What made the little souvenir so 
precious to her father? 

What do you know of Edwin Booth after 
reading this letter? What do you think pleased 
his daughter most in it? 

152. Written Exercises. 

a. Write a letter of thanks to your father or 
mother who has sent you a gift. 

b. Write a note acknowledging a gift of flowers. 


180 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section EX. ADDRESSING THE ENYELOPE. 

After a letter has been written and placed in 
an envelope, the next step is to write on the 
envelope the address of the person for whom it 
is intended, and to put on a stamp. The proper 
position of the address is shown in the following 
diagram : 


lTl/u R. WoJUL, 

Bo-^ioru, 

TTlaM. 


The stamp should be placed in the upper right 
hand corner of the envelope. 

Very recently it has come to be considered 
correct to omit the punctuation on an envelope, 
but the custom is not universal enough to be 
said to be the established usage. 


153. Oral Exercise. 

Tell when a square envelope is appropriate and 
when an oblong one is to be preferred. 



LETTER-WRITING 


181 


154. Written Exercises. 

a. Cut out six oblong pieces of paper to represent 
envelopes , and on each piece write one of the follow¬ 
ing addresses. Place the address upon the paper 
as in the model: 

(1) Your own address. 

(2) Your father’s address. 

(3) A cousin’s address. 

(4) The address of John B. Lane, who lives at 102 
Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York. 

(5) Mrs. Alice O. James, who is spending the winter in 
New Orleans, Louisiana, at the St. Charles Hotel. 

b. Write a note to your teacher asking her to 
take dinner with you to-morrow. 

Address an envelope for this note. 


Memory Gems. 

I. 

If all were rain and never sun, 

No bow could span the hill; 

If all were sun and never rain, 

There’d be no rainbow still. 

— Christina G. Rossetti. 


II. 

Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever; 

Do noble things, not dream them, all day long : 
And so make life, death, and that vast forever 

One grand sweet song. —Charles Kingsley. 


182 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



Reproduced by permission of Harper & Brothers. 


Section LXI. LITERATURE STUDY. 

The following is part of a letter from the great 
English writer, Lord Macaulay, to his niece 
Margaret, whose pet name was Baba: 


September 15th, 1842. 


My dear Baba :— 

Thanks for your very pretty letter. I am 
always glad to make my little girl happy, and nothing 
pleases me so much as to see that she likes books. For, 
when she is as old as I am, she will find that they are better 
than all the tarts, and cakes, and toys, and plays, and sights 
in the world. If anybody would make me the greatest 





LETTER-WRITING 


183 


king that ever lived, with palaces, and gardens, and fine 
dinners, and wine, and coaches, and beautiful clothes, and 
hundreds of servants, on condition that I would not read 
books, I would not be a king. I would rather be a poor 
man in a garret with plenty of books, than a king who did 
not love reading. 

Your affectionate uncle, 

T. B. Macaulay. 

155. Interpretation. 

What do you think Baba’s letter was about? 

How do you think her uncle had made her 
happy? What do you learn about him from 
this letter? 

In what ways do you think books are better 
than “all the tarts, and cakes, and toys, and plays, 
and sights in the world”? 

Why did Lord Macaulay say he “would rather 
be a poor man in a garret with plenty of books, 
than a kine who did not love reading”? 


150. Written Exercise. 

Write a letter to your little brother ‘who is 
away from home. Tell him what happened the 
other day to his pet kitten. Let him know how 
you miss h im. 

Memory Gem. 

Pale is the February sky, 

And brief the midday's sunny hours ; 

The wind-swept forest seems to sigh 

For the sweet time of leaves and flowers. 

—William Cullen Bryant. 


184 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section RXI1. PAPER AND ENVELOPE. 

Every letter that goes through the mails 
stands for the person who writes it. Our letters 
are our representatives. Therefore we should 
be as careful about the appearance and contents 
of our letters as we are about the appearance of 
our clothing and the character of our talk. 

1. Use white paper and black ink. The use 
of colored ink or paper is not so pleasing to the 
eye, and often is a sign of affectation. 

2. As soon as possible learn to write straight 
on unruled paper, and use only that kind. Ruled 
paper is seldom used by good writers, because 
it would seem to show that the writer is so 
unskilled that he cannot write straight on plain 
paper. A young man was once refused an 
excellent position because his letter of appli¬ 
cation was on ruled paper. The employer 
decided that one who did not know the proper 
custom in writing letters would be deficient in 
other things. 

3. Use a sheet of paper folded so as to present 
four pages, like two leaves of this book. If only 
one page is needed, use page 1. If two pages 
are needed, use pages 1 and 3. If three pages 
are needed, use pages 1, 2, and 3. 1 If four pages 
are needed, use pages 1, 2, 3, and 4. 

1 Many persons prefer to use pages i, 3, and 2, in the order named, writing 
the lines on page 2 up the page, not across it. • 



LETTER WRITING 


185 


4. The complimentary close and the signature 
should always be on the same page as the last 
part of the body of the letter, never on a page 
by themselves. 

5. “Crossing” a page, or writing first across it 
and then up and down, to save paper, makes the 
writing hard to read and produces an unpleasant 
impression on the person to whom the letter is 
sent. 


157. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell what color of paper and ink we should 
use in letter-writing, and why. 

l>. Tell why we should use paper that is not 
ruled. 

158. Written Exercise. 

Write a letter to your father asking him to send 
you some writing materials. Tell him the kind 
you want. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

Heaven is not reached by a single bound ; 

But we build the ladder by which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 

And we mount to its summit round by round. 

—John G. Holland. 


II. 

Look in his face, to meet thy neighbor’s soul, 

Not on his garments, to detect a hole. 

— Oliver Wendell Holmes . 


180 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



Section DXIII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

The following letter was written by Thomas 
Hood, the author of “The Bridge of Sighs,” 
“The Song of the Shirt,” and other well-known 
poems, to a little girl named May Elliot: 

Monday, April, 1844. 

My dear May :— 

I promised you a letter, and here it is. I 
was sure to remember it ; for you are as hard to forget, 
as you are soft to roll down a hill with. What fun it was! 
only so prickly, I thought I had a porcupine in one 
pocket, and a hedgehog in the other. The next time, be¬ 
fore we kiss the earth we will have its face well shaved. 

Did you ever go to Greenwich Fair? I should like to 
go there with you, for I get no rolling at St. John’s Wood. 
Tom and Fanny only like roll and butter, and as for Mrs. 
Hood, she is for rolling in money. 


LETTER-WRITING 


187 


Tell Dunnie that Tom has set his trap in the balcony 
and has caught a cold, and tell Jeanie that Fanny has set 
her foot in the garden, but it has not come up yet. Oh, 
how I wish it was the season when “ March winds and 
April showers bring forth May flowers ” ! for then, of course, 
you would give me another pretty little nosegay. Besides 
it is frosty and foggy weather, which I do not like. The 
other night when I came home from Stratford, the cold 
shriveled me up so, that when I got home I thought I was 
my own child ! 

However, I hope we shall all have a merry Christmas. 
I mean to come in my ticklesome waistcoat, and to laugh 
till I grow fat, or at least streaky. There will be doings! 
And then such good things to eat; but, pray, pray Vt pray, 
mind they don’t boil the baby by mistake for the plump 
pudding, instead of a plum one. 

Give my love to everybody, from yourself down to 
Willy, with which and a kiss, I remain, up hill and down 
dale, 

Your affectionate lover, 

Thomas Hood. 

159. Interpretation. 

Do you think May enjoyed reading this 
letter? Find more than one reason for thinking 
so. Read the lines that must have made May 
realize that the writer loved to think of her and 
write to her. In what way are all these letters 
by great writers alike? 

What parts of the letters are the funniest? 
Where does the writer make fun by exagger¬ 
ating? 

Where does he make fun by punning? 


188 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


What do you like about this letter? 

What do you think the authors little friend, 
May Elliot, liked in it? 

What does it reveal to you about the character 
of Thomas Hood? 


1(»0. Written Exercises. 

a . Write a letter to a friend with idiom you 
once spent a pleasant day. Recall, at the begin¬ 
ning, the good time you had together, and propose 
something for another day. 

b. Write the answer to such a letter. 

c. Write a letter to a f riend who is going to 
visit you, and who will arrive while you are at 
school. Tell him how to find his way to your 
house, how he will know he is on the right way , 
and how he can recognize the house. Suggest some 
way in which he may amuse himself idiile waiting 
for you. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

Into each life some rain must fall, 

Some days must be dark and dreary. 

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

II. 

My good blade carves the casques of men, 

My tough lance thrusteth sure; 

My strength is as the strength of ten, 

Because my heart is pure .—Alfred Tennyson. 


LETTER-WRITING 


189 


Section LNIV. BUSINESS BETTERS. 

Examine the following letters: 

1516 Columbus Avenue, 

New York, N. Y., 

November 3, 1902. 

Messrs. Harper & Brothers, 

Franklin Square, 

New York. 

Gentlemen 

Enclosed you will find a money order for eight 
dollars, for my subscription to Harper’s Magazine and Har¬ 
per’s Weekly for one year. 

Please let the subscription begin with the December 
number. Respectfully yours, 

(Miss) Elizabeth Johnson. 


Salisbury, S. C., 

March 6, 1902. 

Miss Lydia Duncan, 

Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Dear Madam :— 

My daughter is very anxious to go to Europe 
this summer. Since it is impossible for. me to take her, my 
aunt, Mrs. Neale, has advised me to send her with your 
party. 

Will you please tell me the length of time you will be 
gone, what countries you will visit, and the cost of the tri.p ? 
Sincerely yours, 

Ethel N. Wirt. 

(Mrs. Henry S. Wirt.) 



190 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 




Lakeville, Conn., 
April 14, 1902. 

Mr. Henry C. Brinsmade, 

260 West Jersey Street, 

Elizabeth, N. J. 

Dear Sir :— 


Your letter was received this evening. We packed 
the trees very carefully, and regret that they did not arrive 
in good condition. If they do not grow, we will gladly 
replace them. Very truly yours, 

Chas. A. Scott. 


1G1. Conversation. 

With regard to the form (i. e.,the heading, the 
salutation, and the signature), how do these 
letters differ from the letter on page 171? 

These differences in form between a letter to 
a friend and a business letter are due to the 
following fact: 

Business letters are written to strangers, who 
must he assured that the letter is for them, and 
informed how to address a reply. 

The full address of the person to whom the 
letter is written is inserted by business men for 
the information of their stenographers, who write 
out the letters from dictation and address the 
envelopes. If the sender writes and addresses 
his own letters, the insertion of the street and 
number is not necessary; but the name and city 
should always be used. 

What salutation is used in the letter to a man? 


LETTER-WRITING 


191 


What salutation is used in the letter to a 
company? Dear Sirs would do equally well. 

What salutation is used in the letter to a 
woman? Madam corresponds to Sir, and is 
used in addressing either married or unmarried 
women. 

What complimentary closes are used in these 
letters? What is the meaning of respectfully? 

How does Miss Elizabeth Johnson inform 
Harper & Brothers that she is to be addressed 
as an unmarried woman? 

How does Mrs. Wirt indicate that she is mar¬ 
ried? A married woman usually signs her own 
initials; but she is addressed by her husband’s 
initials, if he is living. 

Business letters should be clear and straight 
to the point, and should contain no unnecessary 
matter to waste the time of the person to whom 
they are sent. 


162. Written "Exercises. 

a. Copy one of the letters given above, 
h. Write to John Wanamalcer, of Philadelphia , 
for a copy of his latest catalogue. Store: corner 
of Thirteenth and Market Streets. 


Memory Gem. 


Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle. 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


192 


Section LXV. LITERATURE STUDY. 

The following letter was written by a remark¬ 
able little girl named Marjorie Fleming, who 
was a pet of Sir Walter Scott’s. When she wrote 
it, she was not yet six years old. 

My dear Isa: 

I now sit down to answer all your kind and 
beloved letters which you was so good as to write to 
me. This is the first time I ever wrote a letter in my Life. 
There are a great many Girls in the Square and they cry 
just like a pig when we are under the painful necessity of 
putting it to Death. Miss Potune a Lady of my acquaint¬ 
ance praises me dreadfully. I repeated something out of 
Dean Swift, and she said I was fit for the stage, and you 
may think I was primmed up with majestick Pride, but 
upon my word I felt myselfe turn a little birsay—birsay is a 
word which is a word that William composed which is as 
you may suppose a little enraged. This horrid fat simpli- 
ton says that my Aunt is beautifull which is entirely impos¬ 
sible for that is not her nature. 

163. Interpretation. 

What mistakes can you find in this letter? If 
it amuses you, ask your teacher to read you 
some more of Marjorie’s letters, which may be 
found in the sketch of her by Dr. John Brown, 
the author of “ Rab and his Friends.” 

164. Written Exercise. 

Copy Marjorie's letter , correcting the mistakes in 
spelling and capitalizing. 



LETTER-WRITING 


193 


Section LXYI. FORMAL INVITATIONS AND 
REPLIES. 

The following models show the manner of 
writing formal invitations and replies : 

Invitation. 

Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Carpenter request the pleasure of 
Mr. Turner’s company at dinner on Wednesday, November 
twelfth, at six-thirty o’clock. 

1227 Amsterdam Avenue. 

Reply (Accepting). 

Mr. Turner accepts with pleasure the invitation of Mr. 
and Mrs. Carpenter to dinner on Wednesday, November* 
twelfth. 

Monday, November 10. 

Reply (Declining). 

Mr. Turner regrets that a previous engagement prevents 
his accepting Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter’s kind invitation to 
dinner on Wednesday, November twelfth. 

Monday, November 10. 

165. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the notes given above. Learn them by 
heart 

b. Write a formal invitation to a friend for 
some particular occasion. 

c. Write a formal acceptance to the invitation. 

d. W 'rite a formal note declining the invitation 
and giving the reason. 


194 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Memory Gem. 

The night is calm and cloudless, 

And still as still can be, 

And the stars come forth to listen 
To the music of the sea. 

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . 

SUMMARY OF CHAPTER IV. 

Follow the accepted form in the arrangement of 
the place where and the time when a letter is writ¬ 
ten, the salutation, the message, the complimentary 
close, and the signature. 

Consider the person to whom you are writing. 

Tell about those things which you think will be 
interesting to your correspondent. 

Try to show your correspondent your best and 
most entertaining side. 

The name of a person and the name of the place 
where he lives or does business together are called 
his address. 

The names of the different places in an address 
should be separated by commas. 

In writing addresses the names of States are 
usually abbreviated. 

Write the address on the envelope according to 
the accepted form. 

Place the stamp on the upper right hand corner 
of the envelope. 

For correspondence, use white paper, black ink, 
and unruled paper. 

Use the pages of the letter sheet in the following 
order as needed: i and 3; 1, 2, and 3; 1, 2, 3, and 4. 

Place the complimentary close and the signature 
of a letter on the same page as the last part of the 
body of the letter. 


LETTER-WRITING 


195 


Never write up and down a page after having 
written across it. 

Business letters are written to strangers, who 
must be assured that the letter is for them, and 
informed how to address a reply. 

Business letters should be clear and straight to 
the point, and should contain no unnecessary matter 
to waste the time of the person to whom they are 
sent. 

Business letters should be written according to 
accepted forms. 

Formal invitations and replies should be written 
according to accepted forms. 

SLPPLEMENTARY WORK. 

1GG. Oral Exercises. 

a. Describe a postage stamp. What is it for ? 
Why should not people be allowed to pay for a 
letter when they get it instead of when they mail it? 
Why are stamps cancelled by the postmaster? 
What stamps are in most common use? 

b. Wluxt is a post-office? By whom is it es¬ 
tablished and Dpt tip ? Where is your post-office ? 
What do you see when you go there? IIow do 
you get mail from the post-office ? IIow do you 
put mail in it ? Why do people write letters ? 
Why do they like to receive them? 

c. With the help of your teacher learn all you 
can about the history of the Mail Service , and re - 
port it to your class. 

d. Describe the American tioo-cent stamp of the 
present day. 


196 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


e. With the help of your teacher learn all you 
can about the history of Postage Stamps, and then 
tell it to your class. 

f. Describe your postman as accurately and as 
interestingly as you can, so that your classmates 
can see him in their mind's eye. 

167. Written Exercises. 

a. Write a few paragraphs on a Visit to the 
Post Office, making them as interesting as you can. 

b. Write a composition on The Mail Service of 
the United States. 

c. Write a composition on American Postage 
Stamps. 

d. Write a letter of two paragraphs to a friend 
telling about two interesting things you did or saw 
yesterday. 

e. Write a letter to William Shakespeare, in 
Stratford, England, who has asked you to describe 
the American one-cent stamp. 

f. Write a letter to a friend describing, in as 
entertaining a manner as possible, how you get 
your mail. 

g. Write, a letter to your mother telling her 
about your school, your studies, and anything else 
about your school life which she might like to know. 

h. Write a letter of three or more paragraphs to 
a f r iend telling her what yo u are planning to do 
on Christmas. 


LETTER-WRITING 


197 


i. Write a letter to a classmate who has been 
sick for several days. Make your letter cheerful 
and interesting. 

j. Write a letter of thanks to your aunt who 
has just made you a pretty calendar; or to a 
f riend who has sent yon a photograph of himself 
in a frame that he made. 

k. W rite a note to your teacher asking her if she 
will take the class into the woods next Saturday. 

l. Imagine you were a child living in Ply-, 
mouth in the early days of the colony , and write 
a letter of three paragraphs to a little friend whom 
you left behind you in Holland. 

m. Write a letter to your grandfather thanking 
him for what he sent you on your birthday. 

n. Write a note to a friend asking him to meet 
with some boys at your home to form a bedl team , 
or, write a note to a friend asking her to meet 
with some girls at your house to form a reading 
club. 

o. Write a note to a friend who lives in the 
same town. Tell her you have a little kitten which 
you want to give her , and ask her if she would like 
to have it. 

p. Imagine you are a stranger visiting for the 
first time the place where you live , and write about 
your visit. 

q. Write a letter telling why you would rather 
live in the North than in the South (or in the 
South than in the Nortli). 


198 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


r. Write a note to your teacher ashing if you may 
leave school half an hour early. Give your reason. 

s. A friend has invited you to a sleigh ride. 
Write a note telling her you cannot go. Give 
your reason. Address an envelope for this note. 

t. Write on make-believe envelopes the addresses 
of four of your playmates. 

u. Address make-believe envelopes to the following 
persons: 

(1) William B. Bissell, who is a physician in Lakeville, 
Connecticut, Litchfield County. 

(2) Luther M. Black, who is a clergyman living in Har¬ 
risburg, Pennsylvania, at 223 North Third Street. 

(3) Sherman L. Coy, who is with the Colt Manufacturing 
Company, in Hartford, Connecticut. 

(4) John A. McCall, of New York, who is President of 
the New York Life Insurance Company. The company’s 
offices are at 346 Broadway. 

v. Write a note asking some friend to make you 
a visit. Make the invitation as attractive and 
cordial as possible, and address it properly. 

w. Write a letter to a friend, real or imaginary , 
living in a distant part of the United States, tell¬ 
ing of the strange and interesting things to be seen 
ivhere you live. 

x. Imagine that yon desire employment with 
some business man or company that you know. 
Write a letter of application, and address it 
properly. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


11)9 


Chapter V 

Sentences and Their Structure 

Section XXVII. SENTENCES. 

The word “ ice,” when heard or seen, creates 
in the mind a mental picture, called an Idea. 
This idea is clear and distinct; but we feel that 
it is not a complete thought like “Ice is cold” 
or “Ice melts.” 

From the words “ Ice melts ” we get more than 
a single idea. First we get the idea of ice; then 
we eet the idea of what ice does. Two ideas of 
this kind—something pictured in the mind and 
an assertion about it—together form a Thought. 

A group of words expressing a thought is 
called a Sentence. 

Read the following groups of words: 

1. The bird builds in the tree. 

2. Where do oranges orow? 

O o 

3. Meet us at the corner. 

4. The house is on fire! 

5. The flowers are fragrant. 

6. Come to my house at two o’clock. 

7. The dam has burst! 



200 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Does each of these groups of words express a 
complete thought? 

The first sentence, you observe, is an assertion. 
What is the second ? 

The third sentence is a request or a command. 
The fourth sentence expresses strong feeling. 

Sentences that assert are called Assertive Sen¬ 
tences. 

Sentences that ask are called Interrogative 
Sentences. 

Sentences that command are called Impera¬ 
tive Sentences. 

Sentences that express strong feeling are 
called Exclamatory Sentences. 

What punctuation mark is used at the end of 
an Assertion? of a Question? of a Command? 
of an Exclamation? 


108. Oral Exercises. 


a. Tell which of the following groups of words 
are sentences: 


(1) Birds fly. 

(2) Birds tree. 

(3) The birds in the tree. 

(4) The birds are in the 


(n) Growing plants. 
(12) Crickets chirp. 


(10) Plants are growing. 


(9) Plants growing. 


tree. 

(5) The birds in the tree 
are robins. 


(13) The engine whistled. 


(14) Once in a while, 

(15) Smoke curls. 


(6) Flying birds. 

(7) Birds flying. 

(8) Plants grow. 


(18) Working bees. 


(16) Smoke curling. 

(17) Bees work. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


201 


h. Read each of the followin'/ sentences, and tell 
whether it is assertive , interrogative , imperative , or 
exclamatory: 

(1) The train was late. 

(2) Turn to the left. 

(3) How cold it is ! 

(4) Keep thy tongue from evil. 

(5) The night is calm and cloudless. 

(6) What a wonderful garden is here ! 

(7) Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home. 

(8) This is the forest primeval. 

(9) Why cross the gloomy firth to-day ? 

(10) Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn. 


169. Written "Exercises. 

cl Use each of the following groups of words in 
a complete sentence: 

(1) The birds in the tree. (4) The apples in the orchard. 

(2) Grow in the woods. (5) Is coming. 

(3) The leaves are. (6) The wind. 

1). Change each of the following assertive sew 
fences into a question : 

(1) Waldo studies French. (3) You can sing. 

(2) Squirrels crack nuts. (4) Mother is tired. 

c. Change each of the following assertive sen¬ 
tences into a command: 

(1) Mary is studying her (3) The door is open. 

lesson. (4) Ice melts. 

(2) Carlo comes to me. (5) The lamp is lighted. 


202 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



Section LXYIII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

“ The Brook ” is a song from a longer poem 
of the same name. It is famous for its musical 
qualities and its beautiful descriptions. 

Head the following poem: 

The Brook. 

I come from haunts of coot and hern, 

I make a sudden sally, 

And sparkle out among the fern, 

To bicker down a valley. 


By thirty hills I hurry down, 
Or slip between the ridges, 
By twenty thorps, a little town, 
And half a hundred bridges. 



SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


203 


I chatter over stony ways, 

In little sharps and trebles, 

I bubble into eddying bays, 

I babble on the pebbles. 

With many a curve my banks I fret 
By many a field and fallow, 

And many a fairy foreland set 
With willow, weed, and mallow. 

I chatter, chatter, as I flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go, 

But I go on forever. 

I wind about, and in and out, 

With here a blossom sailing, 

And here and there a lusty trout, 

And here and there a grayling, 

And here and there a foamy flake 
Upon me, as I travel 
With many a silvery waterbreak 
Above the golden gravel, 

And draw them all along, and flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go, 

But I go on forever. 

—Alfred Tennyson. 

170. Interpretation. 

Who is speaking? 

Read those lines which describe the lonely 
wild places where the brook begins. 

What is meant by “ to bicker down a valley” ? 


204 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Does the brook see much or little variety in 
its course ? Tell what it sees. 

What lines best call to your mind a brook 
you have seen? Tell about this brook, using, 
if you like, some of the poet’s words. Notice 
the words which give you an idea of beautiful 
colors. 

What lines describe best the impatient hurry¬ 
ing of the brook ? 

Learn two or three stanzas you like best. 

171. Oral Exercises. 

a. Tell why the following words are used: 

Sudden sally, sharps and trebles, fret, lusty. 

1). What words give you an idea of color ? 

c. Notice the use of words in pairs beginning 
with the same letter, like “ sudden sally? 

How many such can you find ? What effect 
does this have upon the sound, as you read these 
lines ? 


172 . Written Exercises. 

a. Write three questions upon the use of the 
words in “ The Brook ” for your classmates to 
answer. 

b. Choose one of the lines you like best. Copy 
it and make a drawing to illustrate it. 




SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


205 


Section LXIX. SUBJECT AND PREDICATE. 


If you examine the following sentences, you 
will find that each sentence has two parts: 


Naming Part. Asserting Part. 


Iron 
Fish 
Fire 
Snow 
Lions 
The birds 
The lilies 


rusts. 

swim. 

burns. 

is white. 

are hunted. 

sing in the trees. 

blossom in the pond. 


The part of a sentence which names that about 
which an assertion is made is called the Sub¬ 
ject. 

The asserting part of a sentence is called the 
Predicate. 

Every sentence must contain a subject and a 
predicate. 

The subject and the predicate may each con¬ 
sist of a single word or of many : as, 


Subject. 


Predicate. 


Rabbits 
Wild rabbits 
Bees 

The busy bees 
Stars 

The beautiful little stars 


burrow. 

burrow in the ground, 
fly. 

fly from flower to flower, 
twinkle. 

twinkle in the sky. 


The separation of a sentence into its parts is 
called Analysis. 








200 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


173. Oral Exercises. 

a. Separate the following sentences into Subject 
and Predicate: 

(1) I shook the walnuts down. 

Model —The subject is “ I.” The predicate is “shook the walnuts down.” 

(2) Brooks murmur. 

(3) Time flies. 

(4) Time flies fast. 

(5) Students learn. 

(6) Good students learn fast. 

(7) Sugar grows in Cuba. 

(8) The wild grapes wait us by the brook. 

(9) The lilies blossom in the pond. 

(10) She laid her hand in mine. 

(ri) Trees of enormous size grow in California. 

(12) The central part of the United States is a vast plain. 

b. Make sentences , using the following words or 
groups of words as subjects: 

(1) Whales-. 

(2) Wheels-. 

(3) Rivers-. 

(4) Cars ——. 

(5) The wind-. 

(6) Little Hiawatha-. 

(7) Coral islands -. 

(8) A boy’s whistle-. 

(9) The Maine woods - 

(10) Many car-loads of fruit 

(11) The first spring flowers 














SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


207 


c. Make sentences , using the following words or 
groups of words as predicates: 

(1) - flutter. 

(2) -kick. 

( 3 ) —— is ringing. 

(4) -were playing. 

(5) -fly away home. 

(6) -drove two white horses. 

(7) - watched their flocks by night. 

(8) -are brought from Florida. 

(9) -flows into the Gulf of Mexico. 

(10) — grew in sun and shower. 

17T. Written Exercises. 

a. Analyze the following sentences, writing the 
subjects and the predicates in opposite columns, 
thus: 

Subject. Predicate. 

The moon shines. 

The beautiful moon shines in the east. 

(1) My father is working. 

(2) The birds are building a nest. 

(3) A bee flew from flower to flower. 

(4) Golden butterflies gleam in the sun. 

(5) Hiawatha saw fiery lights in the northern sky. 

(6) Valuable minerals are found in the Andes Mountains. 

(7) The apple trees are white with fragrant blossoms. 

(8) The stars glide upon their endless way. 

(9) Many wild flowers bloomed by the dusty roadside. 











208 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


b. Use each of the following groups of words as 
either the subject or the predicate of a sentence: 


(1) Salt Lake City. 

( 5 ) 

(2) grow in the fields. 


(3) little Bo-Peep. 

(0 

(4) the old oak tree. 

( 7 ) 


has invited the robin to a 
party, 
ran a race. 

are found in the ocean. 


Section LXX. COMPOSITION. 

175. Oral Fxercises. 

a. Describe a brook that you know , telling — 

(1) Where it starts. (3) Where it ends. 

(2) Through what sort of (4) What its character is. 

country it flows. 

b. Describe a certain part of the brook that is 
'unusually pretty. 

17<>. Written Fxercise. 

Write brief descriptions of as many different 
kinds of brooks as yon can think of—the broad 
shallow meadow brook, the swift-flowing mountain 
rill , the brook that winds lazily through the wood¬ 
lands. Use as many pretty descriptive words as 
you can. Use words that imitate by their sound 
the thing they stand for. Try to make each de¬ 
scription a picture, perfect in itself\ having one 
mam thought , with the minor thoughts groupedl 
about it. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


209 


Section LXXI. POSITION OF THE SUBJECT. 

Read the following pairs of sentences: 

1. $ The balloon went up. 

2. ( Up went the balloon. 

3. ( Fred is coming. 

4. I Is Fred coming? 

5 - 

6 . 

What is the subject of the first sentence ? of 
the second ? 

The subject of a sentence does not always 
come first. 

When the subject comes first, the sentence is 
said to be in the natural order. When the sub¬ 
ject does • not come first, the sentence is in 
inverted order. 

The subject of a sentence is always the an¬ 
swer to the question formed by putting who or 
what before the predicate. For example, in the 
sentence, “Of noble race the lady came,” in which 
the asserting part, or predicate, is “ came of noble 
race,” the subject is.the answer to the question, 
“ Who or what came of noble race?” 

When in doubt about the subject of a sentence, 
look first for the predicate, or asserting part. By 
putting who or what before this predicate, the 
subject may easily be found. 


\ Don’t you forget, 
l Don’t forget. 


210 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


What is the subject of the third sentence? of 
the fourth ? 

What is the predicate of the fourth sentence? 
Do the words is coming in the fourth sentence 
make an assertion? What do they do? 

In an interrogative sentence the predicate 
asks something about the subject. 

What is the subject of the fifth sentence ? of 
the sixth ? 

In an imperative sentence the predicate com¬ 
mands, and the subject is generally omitted. 

177. Oral Exercise. 

Separate each of the following sentences into 
subject and predicate: 

(1) There stands the man. 

(2) A mighty man is he. 

(3) Doubtful seemed the battle. 

(4) That gale I well remember. 

(5) Wide open stood the doors. 

(6) Long live the king! 

(7) Down the road she tripped. 

(8) At daybreak on a hill they stood. 

(9) How swiftly the swallows fly! 

(10) Is her voice low and sweet? 

(11) Did you ever hear a lark sing ? 

(12) Unto the pure all things are pure. 

(13) Never lose a chance of doing a kind deed. 

(14) Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


211 


178. Written Exercises. 

cl lino rite the following sentences , arranging 
the parts in the natural order , and consider which 
order you like best: 

(1) Under a spreading chestnut tree the village smithy 
stands. 

(2) Last night the moon had a golden ring. 

(3) Over the river and through the wood to grandfather’s 
house we go 

(4) Piped the blackbird on the beechwood spray. 

(5) In San Francisco I saw many Chinese. 

(6) Home they brought him, slain with spears. 

(7) In a corner sat little Jack Horner. 

b. Rewrite the following sentences, arranging the 
parts in the inverted order: 

(1) Spring comes with soft and noiseless tread. 

(2) The yellow sunflower stood by the brook in autumn 
beauty. 

(3) I hear the patter of little feet in the chamber above 
me. 

(4) I stood on the bridge at midnight. 

(5) Earth praises God with her thousand voices. 

(6) Three black crows sat on a tree. 

Memory Gem. 

A little neglect may breed mischief: for want of a nail 
the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; 
and for want of a horse the rider was lost.— Benjamin 
Franklin. 


212 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section EXXII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

The following selection is from a diary or 
daily record kept by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who 
lived in Massachusetts: 

An Autumn Afternoon. 

October 16.—I spent the whole afternoon in a ramble to 
the seashore. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon, one 
of the pleasantest days of the whole year. People were at 
work harvesting, without their coats. Cocks with their flocks 
of hens were in the grass-fields, hunting grasshoppers, 
chasing them eagerly with outspread wings, appearing to 
take much interest in the sport apart from the profit. Other 
hens were pecking at the ears of Indian corn. Grass¬ 
hoppers, flies, and flying insects of all sorts are more abun¬ 
dant in these warm autumnal days than I have seen them 
at any other time. Yellow butterflies flutter about in the sun¬ 
shine, singly, by pairs or more, and are wafted on the gentle 
gales; the crickets begin to sing early in the afternoon, and 
sometimes a locust may be heard. In some warm spots 
there was a pleasant buzz of many insects.— Hawthorne. 

171). Interpretation. 

What was the date of this ramble? What did 
Hawthorne see that was unusual at that time? 

What words does he use to describe the after¬ 
noon? What things that he saw and heard make 
us feel that it was warm and sunny? 

Which sentence pleases you most? Why? 

Is the author successful in picturing to your 
mind a warm,sunny afternoon in October? Tell 
how you think he does it. 




SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 213 
ISO. Oral Exercises. 

a. Why are commas used after “ beautiful ” and 
“ the second sentence ? What series occurs 

in the fourth sentence? Wliat other series can you 
find in the selection? 

1 . What seems to you the most vivid word or 
group of words in the description of the harvesters? 
of the chickens ? of the butterflies ? of the insects ? 


181. Written Exercises. 

a. Make a list of the words in the selection that 
suggest their meaning by their sound. 

b. Draw some picture suggested to your mind by 
the selection. 


Memory Gems 

I. 

Over the hills and far away, 

A little boy steals from his morning play, 

And under the blossoming apple-tree 
He 1 ies and he dreams of the things to be : 

Of battles fought and of victories won, 

Of wrongs o’erthrown and of great deeds done— 

Of the valor that he shall prove some day, 

Over the hills and far away. 

—Eugene Field. 

II. 

Ay, now am I in Arden : the more fool I. When I was 
at home I was in a better place ; but travelers must be 
content.— William Shakespeare. 


214 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section BXXIII. THE! SD1PLE SUBJECT. 

Compare the following sentences: 

1. Bells jingle. 

2. The sleigh bells on the horse jingle. 

What is the subject of the first sentence? of 
the second? 

Which words might be omitted from the 
second sentence without destroying the sense ? 

Which word might be used alone as the sub- 
ject of the second sentence? 

Which, then, is the necessary or principal word 
in the subject of the second sentence^ 

The principal word in the subject of a sentence 
is called the Simple Subject. 

182. Oral Exercises. 

a. In the following sentences point out first the 
complete Subject, 4 hen the Simple Subject: 

(1) Dead leaves fall. 

(2) The loud wind roared. 

(3) All men are mortal. 

(4) The happy birds were singing. 

(5) The melancholy days are come. 

(6) The good news arrived to-day. 

(7) Many large rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean. 

(8) Here once the embattled farmers stood. 

(9) Thousands of ants covered all the hills and vales in 
my wood yard. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


215 


b. Point out the Simple Subject in each of the 
following sentence*: 

(1) Last summer a little green caterpillar lived in* my 
grape-vine. 

(2) Then a strange thing happened. 

(3) A large express company has the picture of a dog 
upon all of its wagons. 

(4) Solemnly sang the village choir. 

(5) Three wise men of Gotham went to sea in a bowl. 

(6) Not far from the gateway was an old iron bridge. 


183. Written Exercises. 

a. Enlarge the following sentences by adding two 
or more appropriate words to the Simple Subjects: 


(0 - 

bells ring. 

(6) 

birds are chirping. 

(*) - 

— moon rises. 

(7) - 

— children laugh. 

( 3 ) - 

— leaves rustle. 

(8) - 

—- evening darkens. 

( 4 ) - 

— butterfly flutters. 

(9) 

apples are sweet. 

( 5 ) 

sheep are feeding. ( 

IO) 

violets are purple. 


b. Form sentences by filling each of the following 
blanks with two or more words: 

(1) -book-. (3) -dog-. 

(2) -tree-. (4) -house-. 

c. Copy the subjects of the sentences on page 207 
and underline the Simple Subjects. 

d. Make a list of the Simple Subjects of the sen¬ 
tences on p>age 210. 



















216 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section EX XIV. COMPOSITION. 

184. Oral Exercises. 

a. Read again the selection on page 212, and 
then describe your walk to school, telling the follow¬ 
ing things: 

(1) Where you go. (3) What you hear. 

(2) What you see. (4) How you feel. 

b. Describe a pretty walk which you have taken, 
telling where it was, the time of year, and what 
made it pretty. 

185. Written Exercises. 

a. Write a description of your walk to school, 
making it as vivid as you can. Select characteris¬ 
tic pictures, and use some words that suggest tlieir 
meaning by their sound. 

b. Write Oral Exercise u b .” 


Memory Gem. 

Bright little dandelion, 
Downy, yellow face, 
Peeping up among the grass 
With such gentle grace; 
Minding not the April wind 
Blowing hard and cold, 
Brave little dandelion 
With a heart of gold. 


I 



. SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


217 


Section LXXY. THE YEIIB. 

Compare the following sentences: 

1. Stars twinkle. 

2 . Stars twinkle brightly on frosty nights. 

What is the predicate of the first sentence? of 
the second? Which words might be omitted from 
the predicate of the second sentence without de¬ 
stroying the sentence? Which word might be used 
alone as the predicate of the second sentence? 
Which word, then, is the principal or asserting 
word in the predicate of the second sentence? 

The asserting word in the predicate of a sen¬ 
tence is called the Verb. 


180. Oral Exercises.. 

a. Add to each of the following Simple Subjects 
as many appropriate Verbs as you can think of: 

(1) Leaves-. (3) Monkeys-. (5) Snow-. 

(2) Water-. (4) Farmers -. (6) Lightning-. 

I). In each of the following sentences point out 
the Simple Subject and the Verb: 

(1) Good actions ennoble us. 

(2) The lark sings at heaven’s gate. 

(3) The south wind blew softly. 

(4) Three mice went into a hole to spin. 

(5) The brave soldiers heard the bugle sound. 

(6) The Spanish general surrendered at Santiago. 








218 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


c. Supply a Verb to each of the following sentences: 

(1) They - with the morning lark. 

(2) The shepherd-the same old story. 

(3) Men-at his speech. 

(4) The boat- round and round. 

(5) Once more he-into the street. 

(6) September-thirty days. 

(7) The mouse- up the clock. 

(8) The soldier-his duty. 

(9) She-the garret windows. 

d. In each of the following sentences point out 
first the Subject , then the Predicate ?, then the Simple 
Subject , and then the Verb: 

(1) Out of the north the wild news came. 

(2) Silently fell the snow. 

(3) The blinding mist hid the land. 

(4) A land breeze shook the shrouds. 

(5) Icicles hang by the wall. 

(6) The waves rush in on every side. 

(7) The sultry suns of summer came. 


1ST. Written Exercises. 

a. Enlarge the predicates of the following sen- 
tences by adding appropriate words to the Verbs: 


(1) Winter comes. 

(2) Wolves prowl. 

(3) Hens cackle. 

(4) Weather-vanes turn. 


(5) The men walked. 

(6) The war ended. 

(7) Mary called. 

(8) Dark clouds scatter. 











SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


210 


b. Make sentences with the following Verbs by 
filling each of the blanks with two or more appro¬ 
priate words: 

■ 

(i) - rise -. (2) - eat -. (3) - 

laughed-. 


■ c. Copy tlie predicates of the sentences on page 
206 , and underline the Verbs. 

d. Make oi list of the Verbs in the sentences on 
page 211. 

Memory Gem. 


The?*e is a bird I know so well, 

Iti seems as if he must have sung 
Beside my bed when I was young ; 

Before I knew the way to spell 

The name of even the smallest bird, 

Hiis gentle-joyful song I heard. 

Now'see if you can tell, my dear, 

What bird it is that every year 

Sing|s “Sweet—sweet—sweet—very merry cheer.” 


H'P comes in March when winds are strong, 

And snow returns to hide the earth ; 
j But still he warms his heart with mirth, 

(And waits for May. He lingers long 
^ While flowers fade ; and every day 
f Repeats his small contented lay, 

]\s if to say we need not fear 

/The season’s change if love is here 

fWith “Sweet—sweet—sweet—very merry cheer.” 

“ The Song Sparrow. ”—Henry Van Dyke. 








220 


MODERN ENGLISH L ESS0NS 


Section LXXYI. LITERATE® STUDY. 

Mine Host of “The Goldeis Apple - 

A goodly host one day was mine, 

A Golden Apple his only sign, 

That hung from a long branch, rip e an< ^ ^ ne - 

My host was the bountiful apple-ti ee » 

He gave me shelter and nourished me 
With the best of fare, all fresh ano ^ ree - 

And light-winged guests came not a ^ ew 
To his leafy inn, and sipped the dev v 
And sang their best song ere they fle vv - 

I slept at night on a downy bed 
Of moss, and my host benignly spread 
His own cool shadow over my head. 

When I asked what reckoning there r^ght be 
He shook his broad boughs cheerily- - 
A blessing be thine, green Apple-Tree- 

— Thomas Westwood. 

188. Interpretation. 

If mine host was the apple-tree, wht lt was 
leafy inn? What is a hostelry? What mean ^ 
by the sign of “ The Golden Apple”? 

Why is the host spoken of as goodly? 

Name some of the guests at this inn. What 
did they pay for their entertainment? 

189. Written Exercise. 

Draw a picture of this “ leafy inn” and write a 
pretty description of its bounty to its guests • 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


22 1 


Section LXXVII. VERBS CONTAINING MORE 
THAN ONE WORD. 

Compare the following sentences: 

1. I go to school. 

2. I am going to school. 

3. I shall go to school. 

4. I have gone to school. 

5. I have been going to school. 

What is the verb in each of these sentences? 

The verb is sometimes made up of two or more 
words. 

Compare the hollowing sentences: 

1. The bell has rung. 

2. Has the bell rung? 

3. The bell has surely rung. 

What is the verb in the first of these sen¬ 
tences? in the second? in the third? 

The parts of a verb are often separated by 
other words. 


190. Oral Exercises. 

a. Point out the Verbs in the following sentences: 

(1) The town crier has rung his bell. 

(2) Robert of Lincoln is telling his name. 

(3) Hans had served his master seven years. 

(4) The dreary winds are blowing. 

(5) The flowers were arranged by my daughter. 

(6) We have been walking all night. 



222 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


b. In the following sentences supply Verbs made 
up of two or more words: 

(1) The field - by the farmer. 

(2) We- Latin next week. 

(3) Messages-by telephone. 

(4) At two o’clock I- there. 

(5) James-to dinner. 

(6) The poor man’s arm -. 

c. In the following sentences point out the Verbs 
whose parts are separated: 

(1) Helen will certainly be here in time. 

(2) When shall we three meet again ? 

(3) The bells were solemnly tolling. 

(4) Are you not going by train ? 

(5) Richard was seriously injured by the fall. 

(6) Was Macbeth written by Shakespeare ? 

(7) Arbutus is often found under the snow. 

191. Written Exercises. 

a. Make a list of the Verbs in the following 
sentences: 

(1) I shall find him, never fear ! 

(2) Gojd has spread his mornings upon the mountains. 

(3) He has been appointed postmaster by the President. 

(4) His cohorts were gleaming with purple and gold. 

(5) I am thinking of the vacation. 

(6) Up into the cherry tree 

Who should climb but little me ? 








SENTENCES ANI) THEIR STRUCTURE 


223 


b. Copy the following sentences , supplying Verbs 
made up of t wo or more words: 

(1) Nothing-in the room but the sound of his pen. 

(2) I - you to drive to-day. 

(3) Gold -in Alaska. 

x (4) They - always -in the city. 

(5) Listen, my children, and you- 

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. 

(6) You -not-your cake and have it too. 

c. In the following sentences make a list of the 
Verbs ivhose parts are separated: 

(1) At midnight the cock was loudly crowing. 

(2) You should not have gone to the party. 

(3) Alice was quietly sitting under the trees. 

(4) Allen was badly stung by a bee. 

(5) Seed shall never be scattered in this field. 

(6) They have always done their best. 

(7) The spectral owl has always lived in the old gray 
tower. 

(8) Not only around our infancy 

Doth heaven with all its splendors lie. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

To me the meanest flower that blows can give 
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears. 

— William Wordsworth . 

II. 

How far that little candle throws his beams 
So shines a good deed in a naughty world! 

— William Shakespeare . 







224 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section LXXVIII. LITERATURE STUDY. 


Lucy. 

She dwelt among the untrodden ways 
Beside the springs of Dove, 

A maid whom there were none to praise 
And very few to love. 

A violet by a mossy stone 
Half hidden from the eye ! 

Fair as a star, when only one 
Is shining in the sky. 

She lived unknown, and few could know 
When Lucy ceased to be; 

But she is in her grave, and oh! 

The difference to me ! 

— William Wordsworth. 


102. Interpretation. 

What likeness does the poet find between the 
maid and the violet ? between her and the star ? 

What qualities of Lucy does Wordsworth 
celebrate in this poem ? 

How does he show his strong love for her— 
by what he says, or by what he leaves for us to 
imagine ? What meaning has the exclamation 
point here ? 

Which do you think is the most touching 
line ? 

Do you like the expression “untrodden ways”? 
Can you tell why ? 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


225 


Memory Gem. 

Sweet are the little brooks that run 
O’er pebbles gleaming in the sun, 

Singing to soothing tones. 

— Thomas Hood. 


Section LXXIX. COMPLEMENTS. 

Read the following group of words: 

Birds fly. 

Is this a complete sentence? What is the 
subject? What is the verb? Does the verb fly 
make an assertion, or form a complete predicate? 

Read the following groups of words: 


Subject. 

Verb. 

Birds 

have 

Birds 

are 

Birds 

build 


Does each of these groups have a subject? 
Does each have a verb? Does any one of the 
verbs have, are , or build form a complete predi¬ 
cate? Is any of these groups a complete sentence? 

What word can you add to the verb have in 
the first sentence so as to form a complete 
predicate? How can you complete the predi¬ 
cate of the second sentence ? of the third ? 


226 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


The word added to a verb to complete the 
predicate is called a Complement. 

Examples: 


Subject. 


Predicate. 

;_,_ 

Verb. 

Complement. 

Birds 

have 

wings. 

Birds 

are 

timid. 

Birds 

build 

■ nests. 


193. Oral or Written Exercises.. 

a. Complete the predicates in the following sen¬ 
tences by adding complements to the verbs: 


(1) Trees have-. 

(9) The masons are build' 

(2) Squirrels crack -. 

mg 


(3) I see-. 

(lo) Columbus 

discovered 

(4) The hunter killed — 



(5) Velvet feels-. 

(11) The crops 

are look- 

(6) Roses smell -. 

mg 


(7) Cuba is-. 

(12) The tailor 

is making 

(8) He looks-. 




b. With each of the following subjects use an 
appropriate predicate consisting of a verb and a 
complement: 

(1) Trees-. ( 4 ) Asia-. 

(2) Monkeys-. (5) Rivers-. 

( 3 ) Grocers-. (6) Engines-. 


























SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


227 


Section LXXX. LITERATI; RE STUDY. 


•In School-Days. 



THE SCHOOLHOUSE. 

Still sits the schoolhouse by the road, 
A ragged beggar sunning; 

Around it still the sumachs grow, 

And blackberry-vines are running. 

Within, the master’s desk is seen, 
Deep scarred by raps official; 

The warping floor, the battered seats, 
The jack-knife’s carved initial. 

The charcoal frescos on its wall; 

Its door’s worn sill, betraying 
The feet that, creeping slow to school, 
Went storming out to playing ! . 


228 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Long years ago a winter sun 
Shone over at its setting; 

Lit up its western window-panes, 

And low eaves’ icy fretting. 

It touched the tangled golden curls, 

And brown eyes full of grieving, 

Of one who still her steps delayed 
When all the school were leaving. 

For near her stood the little boy 
Her childish favor singled; 

His cap pulled low upon a face 

Where pride and shame were mingled. 

Pushing with restless feet the snow 
To right and left, he lingered; 

As restlessly her tiny hands 

The blue-checked apron fingered. 

He saw her lift her eyes; he felt 
The soft hand’s light caressing, 

And heard the tremble of her voice, 

As if a fault confessing. 

“ I’m sorry that I spelt the word; 

I hate to go above you, 

Because,”—the brown eyes lower fell,—= 
“Because, you see, I love you!” 

Still memory to a gray-haired man 
'That sweet child-face is showing. 

Dear girl! the grasses on her grave 
Have forty years been growing ! 

He lives to learn, in life’s hard school, 
How few who pass above him 

Lament their triumph and his loss, 

Like her,—because they love him. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


229 


194. Interpretation. 

Have you ever seen a schoolhouse like this? 
Do you think Whittier’s description good ? Why 
does he call it “ a ragged beggar ” ? In what way 
does the schoolhouse you have seen differ from 
this ? 

Where in the first three stanzas does Whittier 
put into the description something of his own 
experience? Is it yours as well? 

Explain low eaves' icy fretting. 

What are the things he remembers as he visits 
the school again ? Do you think of anything 
he should have remembered besides? What 
pictures might have come into his mind that 
he did not write about ? 

Tell the story of that winter evening, “long 
years ago.” 

Which picture do you think the prettier—that 
in the first or that in the fourth stanza? 

Why does the poet call life a school? What 
lessons are there to be learned in this school ? 
Who is the teacher? 


195. Word Study. 

CL w rite the meaning of the following words: 
warped initial official lament eaves 

b. Choose four words from some selection you 
like in this hook; then write their meanings. 


230 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section LXXXI. COMPOSITIONS'. 

a. Write a paragraph describing some familiar 
building as it appears in winter. 

b. Write a paragraph describing the same build¬ 
ing in spring or summer. It will be interesting to 
get the opinion of your classmates as to which is 
the better description. 

c. Ask your father or your grandfather to tell 
you about the school he went to when a boy. Choose 
one thing to describe—either the schoolhouse , the 
teacher , or one of the children—and write as good 
a story as you can to read in school to-morrow. 


Memory Gems. 

I. 

An idler is a watch that wants both hands, 

As useless if it goes as when it stands. 

II. 

Unwarmed by any sunset light, 

The gray day darkened into night, 

A night made hoary with the swarm, 

And whirl-dance of the blinding storm, 

As zigzag wavering to and fro 
Crossed and recrossed the winged snow : 

And ere the early bedtime came 

The white drift piled the window-frame, 

And through the glass the clothes-line posts 
Looked in like tall and sheeted ghosts. 

• —John Greenleaf Whittier. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


231 


Section LXXXII. DIRECT OBJECTS. 


Read the following sentences: 


Subject. 

Predicate. 


Verb. 

Complement. 

Mr. Warner 

killed 

a bear. 

Hester 

wrote 

a letter. 

What action is 

asserted in 

the first sentence? 

Who performed this action? 

On what did it 

fall? 



What action is 

asserted in the second sen- 


tence? Who performed it? On what did the 
action fall? 

A complement that denotes the object on 
which the action of the verb falls is called an 
Object Complement. 

An object complement is often called the 
Direct Object , or the Object of the Verb. 

Object complements denote either the receiver 
of the action or the result of the action ; thus : 


Subject. Predicate. 



Verb. 

Object. 


Tabby 

catches 

mice. 

) 

1 Receiver 

Grocers 

sell 

sugar. 

f of the 

Natalie 

cut 

her fiyiger. 

j action. 

Charles 

made 

a kite. 


Mother 

baked 

a cake. 

| Result 
f of the 

Edith 

drew 

a picture. 

1 action. 

J 





232 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


190. Oral or Written Exercises. 


a. Complete the predicates in the following sen¬ 
tences by filling the blanks with Object Complements , 
and tell whether they denote the receiver or the result 
of the action: 


(1) The woman cut 

(2) I have sent- 


(3) The cow tossed 

(4) Jack untied- 


(5) My tailor made — 

(6) Mr. Smith planted 


(7) She composed — 

(8) The dog ate- 

(9) The cat worried - 

(10) God created- 

(11) Mother read- 

(12) The Indian wove 


b. Point out the Object Complements in the fol¬ 
lowing sentences , and tell whether they denote the 
receiver or the residt of the action: 


(1) Longfellow wrote “ Hiawatha.” 

(2) Have you caught any fish ? 

(3) The cat has killed my canary. 

(4) I spent a penny. 

(5) Mother bakes bread. 

(6) Next day they found him. 

(7) April showers make May flowers. 

(8) Grandmother spun the cloth for this gown. 

(9) Many Jiands make light work. 

(10) The rising tide hid the rocks. 

(n) Will you lend me your knife? 

(12) Our gardener dug a long ditch. 

(13) Max has lost his shoe. 

(14) John found a bed of violets. 












SENTENCES ANI) THEIR STRUCTURE 


233 


Section EXXXIII. LITERATURE STUDY, 

The Tourney. 

Ralph would fight in Edith’s sight, 

For Ralph was Edith’s lover. 

Ralph went down like a fire to the fight, 

Struck to the left and struck to the right, 

Roll’d them over and over. 

“Gallant Sir Ralph,” said the king. 

Casques were crack’d and hauberks hack’d, 
Lances snapt in sunder, 

Rang the stroke, and sprang the blood, 

Knights were thwack’d and riven and hew’d 
Like broad oaks with thunder. 

“ O what an arm,” said the king. 

Edith bow’d her stately head, 

Saw them lie confounded. 

Edith Montfort bow’d her head, 

Crowned her knight’s, and flush’d as red 
As poppies when she crown’d it. 

“ 'Take her, Sir Ralph,” said the king. 

—Alfred Tennyson. 

197. Written Exercises. 

cl Imagine yourself Ralph , Edith , or the king , 
and tell the story of the tournament as you saw It. 

I). Imagine yourself one of the crowd of specta¬ 
tors, and describe the scene which you saw when 
tie tournament began. 

c. Describe a football game, or other contest\ that 
you have seen. Choose your words carefully. 


2U 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section LXXXIV. ATTRIBUTE COMPLEMENTS. 

Head the following sentences: 

Subject. Predicate. 


My dog 
My dog 


Verb. 



Complement. 

a spaniel, 
black. 


What is the subject of the first sentence? 
Which word in the predicate describes the sub¬ 
ject? Which word makes the assertion by coup¬ 
ling the subject and the complement together? 

What is the subject of the second sentence? 
What does black do? What does is do? 

A complement that describes the subject is 
called an Attribute Complement. 

A verb that makes an assertion by coupling an 
attribute complement to the subject is called a 
Copula. 

Am, is, are, was, were, has been, have been, and 
other forms of the verb be, are copulas. 

The following verbs are sometimes used as 
copulas: appear, become, feel, look, seem, smell, 
taste / thus: 

The book appears He feels well. 

interesting. The cake looks good. 

The child became a She seemed frightened. 


man. Roses smell sweet. 

Are copulas followed by Objects or by Attri¬ 
bute Complements? 



SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


235 


198. Oral or Written "Exercises. 

a. Complete the predicates in the following sen¬ 
tences by filling the blanks with Attribute Comple¬ 
ments : 


(1) My hat is-. (6) My sister has been-. 

(2) The pear looks-. (7) The clouds were-. 

(3) Silk feels-. (8) Stonewall Jackson was-. 

(4) Violets smell-. (9) My name is-. 

(5) Jackson became-. (10) The horses seem-. 

b. Point out the Attribute Complements in the 
following sentences: 

(1) The twilight is sad and cloudy. 

(2) That old man has been a sailor. 

(3) In the east the sky grows bright. 

(4) A soldier brave is he. 

(5) All his fingers are thumbs. 

(6) Gold is an important export of Australia. 

(7) His speech was the great event of the campaign. 

(8) The child is father to the man. 


c. Make sentences out of the following (groups of 
words by using Copulas: 


(1) Rivers, deep. 

(2) Red, bricks. 

(3) Albert, King. 

(4) Trees, green. 

(5) The Romans, soldiers. 

(6) Stars, bright. 


(7) Bark, rough. 

(8) Johnny, Welshman. 

(9) Cuba, island. 

(to) Blue, paper. 

(n) Difficult, lessons. 
(12) Prairies, fertile. 










MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


236 

d. Complete the predicate in each of the fol¬ 
lowing sentences by supplying a complement, and 
tell whether the complement that you supply is an 
Object or an Attribute Complement: 

(1) Old King Cole was-. (7) The Hebrews made-. 

(2) The air grew-. (8) Napoleon became-. 

(3) Baby saw-. (9) The Nile is -. 

(4) The ocean looks-. (10) Marion feels-. 

(5) Gas gives-. (n) Little Miss Muffet ate-—. 

(6) A snake bit --. (12) The miller grinds-. 

e. Point out the Complements in the following 
sentences, and tell whether they are Object or Attri¬ 
bute Complements: 

(r) Lowell was a poet. 

(2) Arnold turned traitor. 

(3) The boys built a log house. 

(4) A man’s house is his castle. 

(5) Alex grew tall and handsome. 

(6) He seemed a strong man. 

(7) The bird built a nest. 

(8) Who will ring the bell ? 

Section LXXXY. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Rivers. 

Every country has its own rivers, and every river has its 
own quality; and it is the part of wisdom to know and love 
as many as you can, receiving from each the best it has to 
give. The torrents of Norway leap down from their moun¬ 
tain homes with plentiful cataracts, and run brief but glo¬ 
rious races to the sea. The streams of England move 













SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


237 


smoothly through green fields and beside ancient, sleepy 
towns. The Scotch rivers brawl through the open moor¬ 
land and flash along steep Highland glens. The rivers of 
the Alps are born in icy caves, from which they issue forth 
with furious, turbid waters ; but when their anger has been 
forgotten in the slumber of some blue lake they flow down 
more softly to see the vineyards of France and Italy, the 
gray castles of Germany, and the verdant meadows of Hol¬ 
land. The mighty rivers of the West roll their yellow 
floods through broad valleys or plunge down dark canyons. 
The rivers of the South creep under dim arboreal archways 
heavy with banners of waviflg moss .—Hairy Van Dyke. 

199. Interpretation. 

Select the words the author uses to describe 
the streams of each of the countries named. 

Why does he use the words brawl an A flash in 
describing the rivers of Scotland ? 

What is meant by “ when their anger has been 
forgotten in the slumber of some blue lake”? 

Explain open moorland , verdant meadow v, arbo¬ 
real archways. 

What is a sleepy town? Did you ever visit 
one? Tell about it. 

200. Written Hxercises. 

a. Write t wo questions about the rivers of the Alps. 

b. Write jive sentences describing streams you 
have seen or hiow something about , using the 
words mentioned at the end of the Interpretation 
above. Vary your sentences by using sometimes 
the inverted order. 


238 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section LXXXYI. MODIFIERS. 

Compare the following groups of sentences: 

1. j Strokes fell oaks. 

2. \ Little strokes fell great oaks. 

3. j Laura sings. 

4. | Laura sings loell. 

5. r The crocus blooms. 

6. *< The crocus blooms early. 

7. ( The crocus blooms very early. 

What word in the second sentence narrows or 
limits the meaning of the word strokes? What 
word narrows the meaning of the word oaks? 
Would the sentence be complete if these words 
were omitted? if oaks were omitted? 

What word in the fourth sentence limits or 
modifies the meaning of the verb sings? 

What does early do in the sixth sentence? 
What does very do in the seventh? 

A word joined to some part of a sentence to 
limit or modify the meaning is called a Modifier. 


201. Oral or Written Exercises. 

a. Join appropriate modifiers to the following 
words: 


(0 - 

stars. 

( 5 ) 

Work- 

-• ( 9 ) - 

rivers. 

(*) - 

oranges. 

(6) 

Stand- 

. (10). 

tired. 

( 3 ) 

apples. 

(7) 

Sit -., 

(,,) - 

—• soon. 

( 4 ) - 

mountains. 

(8) 

•Speak- 

• .(12) 

well. 















SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


239 

l>. Mention as many words as you can that might 
be used to modify each of the following words: 

house dog cloud hat tree city 

c. Make sentences , using each of the following 
words as a modifier: 


yesterday 

these 

five not 

happy 

r sweetly 

small 

there 

often very 

busy 

quickly 

d. Point 

out the 

modifiers in 

the 

following 


sentences, and tell what each modifies: 

(1) She played well. 

(2) Here he comes. 

(3) The north wind doth blow. 

(4) A burnt child fears the fire. 

(5) Sparks fly upward. 

(6) The river flows slowly. 

(7) I have a green book. 

(8) The miner digs patiently. 

(9) Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. 

(10) Where is your basket ? 

(11) The bright fire burned merrily. 

(12) The small birds twitter. 

(13) Call him again. 

(14) We shall surely expect you next week. 

(15) Little Boy Blue, blow your horn. 

(16) Jack Frost does his work quickly. 

(17) The long bitter war is over. 

(18) How did you find the old man ? 


240 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section LXXXVII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

At Sea. 


<4 



AT SEA. 


A wet sheet and a flowing sea, 

A wind that follows fast, 

And fills the white and rustling sail, 
And bends the gallant mast,— 

And bends the gallant mast, my boys, 
While, like the eagle free, 

Away the good ship flies and leaves 
Old England on the lee. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


241 


“ Oh for a soft and gentle wind ! ” 

I heard a fair one cry ; 

But give to me the snoring breeze, 

And white waves heaving high,— 

And white w'aves heaving high, my lads, 

The good ship tight and free ; 

The world of waters is our home, 

And merry men are w'e. 

There’s tempest in yon horned moon, 

And lightning in yon cloud ; 

But hark the music, mariners ! 

The wind is piping loud ; 

The wind is piping loud, my boys ; 

The lightning flashes free,— 

While the hollow oak our palace is, 

Our heritage the sea. 

—Allan Cunningham. 


202 . Interpretation. 

Read the poem aloud. 

What kind of weather on the sea does this 
sailor like? Point out all the lines that tell 
you this? 

What does he mean by a piping wind ? What 
tells you that he loves the sound? What words 
do you use to describe the sound of the wind ? 

What is meant by a wet sheet? a snoring 
breeze? white waves? 

Explain the first line in the last stanza. How 
does the sailor feel toward his ship ? What 
does he call it ? What does the last line mean ? 


24 2 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


203. Oral Exercise. 

Give a sentence in which for the sake of beauty 
you compare a ship to a bird. II ould you think 
of comparing a bird to a ship ? Would you coin- 
pare a balloon to a ship? What reason can you 
give for your answer? 


204. Written Exercises. 

a. Write some sentences about Clouds , using the 
folio icing words , and modifying the subject and the 
predicate of each sentence by 'words or groups of 
words: 

drifted sailed swept were driven were wafted 

b. Write some sentences about Girls , using the 
following words , and modifying the subject and 
the predicate of each sentence by words or groups 
of words: 

danced skipped sauntered lagged raced 

c. Fill the blanks with the best words you can 
find: 

(1) - glows like-. (4) --- swims like-. 

(2) - rustles like -. (5) - whines like-. 

-. (6) -tastes as - as 

(3) -- sings as --- as -. 

-. (7) -springs like-. 

(8)-glistens like-. 















SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


243 


Section EXXXVUI. PHRASES. 

Examine the following pairs of sentences: 

1. (Read carefully. 

2. (Read with care. 

3. j Hercules was a strong man. 

4. ( Hercules was a man of great strength. 

5. j A brick house stood here. 

6. | A house of brick stood in this place. 

7. j My life is happy. 

8. ( My life is full of happiness. 

What word modifies read in the first sentence? 
In the second what words take the place of 
carefully ? Could either word be omitted? 

What does the word strong do in the third 
sentence? What group of words in the fourth 
sentence is used like the word strong? 

What modifiers are used in the fifth sentence? 
What groups of words in the sixth sentence are 
used as modifiers? 

What word and group of words are used alike 
in the seventh and eighth sentences? 

Do any of the following groups of words con¬ 
tain a subject and a predicate: with care , of great 
strength , in this place , full of happiness? 

A group of words used as a single word and 
containing neither subject nor predicate is 
called a Phrase. 

Phrases used as modifiers should be placed 
as near as possible to the words they modify. 


244 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


205. Oral Exercises. 


a. Point out the Phrases in the following: 

(1) A cold wind bio ws / from the west. 

(2) Bluebirds build^n hollow trees. 

(3) The old clock stands on the stairs. 

(4) There are mines of golddn California. 

(5) He was without a penny. 

(6) We have school in the morning. 

(7) The dew glistens on the grass. 

(8) The snow fell hissing* in the brine. 

(9) I saw the glitter pf their rifles^ , 

(10) The hills shook, with thunder./ 

(11) Elephants live in India. 

(12) I turned in my saddle.? 


b. Make sentences 
phrases: 


containing the following 


(1) during vacation 

(2) of England 

(3) after dinner 

(4) against the barn 


(5) in the woods 

(6) by the mill 

(7) without help 

(8) of silver 


c. Change the following words into equivalent 
phrases , and use the phrases in sentences of your 
own making: 


(1) penniless 

(2) rapidly 

(3) here 

(4) homeward 

(5) carefully 


(6) quickly 

(7) cloudy 

(8) somewhere 

(9) daily 

(10) attentively 


(11) there 

(12) valuable 

(13) now 

(14) golden 

(15) French 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


245 


20(3. Written Exercises. 

a. Change the following sentences by using single 
words instead of the italicized phrases: 

(1) The Israelites made a calf of gold. 

(2) Every day we go to the wood. 

(3) He is a man of power. 

(4) Learn your lesson with care. 

(5) The pyramids of Egypt are wonderful. 

(6) Candlesticks of brass were on the table. 

(7) We will meet them at some place. 

(8) The river runs under a bridge of iron. 

(9) The cattle are going toward home. 

b. In each of the following sentences insert in the 
proper place the phrases enclosed in brackets: 

(1) He finished his work and went to rest [on the roofj. 

(2) I saw a man plowing a field [with one arm]. 

(3) The jewels were found by my aunt [in the closet]. 

(4) The boy was sent to the store [with blue eyes]. 

(5) Your writing that letter secured the position [so 
neatly]. 

(6) The old man has a chair to sell [with a carved back]. 

Memory Gem. 

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky 
Arrives the snow ; and, driving o’er the fields, 

Seems nowhere to alight; the whited air 
Hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven 
And veils the farmhouse at the garden’s end. 

—Ralph Waldo Emerson. 


246 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section LXXXIX. COMPOSITION. 

207. Oral Exercises. 

Read again the selection about Rivers on 
page 236. 

Talk with your teacher about the stream near 
your home , noting especially things suggested by 
the selection just read. 

208. Written Exercises. 

a. Write a composition describing the stream near 
your home. Do not forget to choose an interest¬ 
ing title. 

b. Imagine yourself by the side of a sleepy river 
on a hot August afternoon. Write a short para¬ 
graph describing the day and the place without 
using the words “ hot ” and “ sleepy .” 

Memory Gem. 

An arctic Hare we now behold, 

The Hare, you will observe, is white : 

But if you think the Hare is old, 

You will be very far from right. 

The Hare is young, and yet the Hare 
Grew white in but a single night. 

Why, then, it must have been a scare 

That turned this Hare. No ; ’twas not fright. 

(Although such cases are well known.) 

I fear that once again you’re wrong. 

Know, then, that in the Arctic Zone 
A single night is six months long. 

“ The Arctic I Tare T—Oliver Herford. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR S f TRUCTl)RE 247 

Section XC. CLAUSES. 

Examine the following pairs of sentences: 

1. j They started early. 

2. { They started ivhen the sun rose. 

3. j Stagnant water is unwholesome. 

4. ( Water that is stagnant is unwholesome. 

The earths shape is proved by its shadow. 



That the earth is round is proved by its 


shadow. 


What is the subject of the first sentence? 
What is the verb? Is early a complement or a 
modifier ? 

In the second sentence, what group of words 
takes the place of early? What, then, is this 
group of words used to do? Does it have a 
subject and a predicate? 

In the third sentence, how is stagnant used? 
What group of words in the fourth sentence is 
used like stagnant? What is the predicate of 
the group ? What is the subject of the group ? 

What is the subject of the fifth sentence? 
What is the predicate? What is the predicate 
of the sixth sentence? What is the subject of 
the sixth sentence? Does this group of words 
have a subject and a predicate? 

A group of words containing a subject and a 
predicate, and used as part of a sentence, is 
called a Clause. 


248 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


201). Oral and Written Exercises. 

a. Point out each clause in the following sen¬ 
tences. Point out the subject and the predicate of 
each clause: 

(1) The child cried when it fell. 

Model.—Clause, when it fell. Subject of the clause, it; predicate,/^//. 
When is a connecting word. 

(2) She has a doll that walks. 

(3) He swam the river where there was no ford. 

(4) When the clock struck one, the mouse ran down. 

(5) The English were the first/people N/ who settled here., 

(6) When I was a bachelor, I lived by myself. 

(7) It was one by the village clock when he galloped into 
Lexington. 

(8) Their van will be upon us before the bridge goes down. 

(9) When a building is about to fall down, all the mice 
desert it.— Pliny the Elder. 

h. Rewrite the following sentences , changing the 
italicized words and phrases into clauses: 

(1) At sunrise we started on our journey.- 

(2) She listened attentively to every spoken word. 

(3) After dinner I am going for a walk. 

(4) An officer hearing a flag of truce was seen by the 
guard. 

(5) Old Kasper took it from the boy standing expectantf 

(6) He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers oj 
water. 

(7) Raleigh, taking off his cloak , placed it in front of 
Queen Elizabeth. 

(8) At noon we heard the fire bell ring. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


249 

c. Expand each of the following phrases into a 
clause, a)id use the clause in a sentence of your own: 

Model_Phrase, at sunrise; clause, when the sun rose ; sentence, We started 

iehen the sun rose. 

(1) By. moonlight. (5) At the crossroads. 

(2) In youth. (6) In the sunlight. 

(3) After school. (7) Of wisdom. 

(4) Living in glass houses. (8) Of studious habits. 

d. Fill each of the following Hanks with a clause , 
and point out its subject and predicate: 

(1) Our idea is-. (5) -he stopped. 

(2) The train started-. (6) - was chosen. 

(3) Mary left-—. (7) Make hay-. 

(4) The news-has come. (8) Alfred was a king-. 

e. Rewrite each of the following sentences , in¬ 
serting in the proper place the clause enclosed by 
brackets: 

(1) The meadow was covered with dandelions [which 
lay before us]. 

(2) People are trusted [who pay their debts]. 

(3) He is not always brave [that is strong]. 

(4) He is sure to fall [that climbs too high]. 

(5) The mountain is called Mount Riga [you can see 
from here]. 

(6) The fisherman has caught a large trout [whom you 
saw]. 

(7) We generally succeed [if we do our best]. 

(8) The bicycle stood by the wall [on which he rode]. 

(9) A city cannot be hid [that is set on a hill]. 










250 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



Section XCI. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Read the following poem: 

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat. 

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea 
In a beautiful pea-green boat, 

They took some honey, and plenty of money, 
Wrapped up in a five-pound note. 

The Owl looked up to the stars above, 

And sang to a small guitar, 

“Oh, lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love, 

What a beautiful Pussy you are, 

You are, 

You are ! 

What a beautiful Pussy you are ! ” 

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl! 

How charmingly sweet you sing ! 

Oh let us be married! too long we have tarried 
But what shall we do for a ring ? ” 













SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


251 


They sailed away for a year and a day, 

To the land where the Bong-tree grows, 

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, 

With a ring'at the end of his nose, 

His nose, 

His nose, 

With a ring at the end of his nose. 

“ Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling 
Your ring ? ” Said the Piggy, “ I will.” 

So they took it away, and were married next day 
By the Turkey who lives on the hill. 

They dined on mince, and slices of quince. 

Which they ate with a runcible spoon; 

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, 

They danced by the light of the moon, 

The moon, 

The moon, 

They danced by the light of the moon. 

—Edward Lear. 

210. Interpretation. 

What do you like about this poem? 

Would you like the story as well if it were 
told in prose? 

Can you find runcible and bong dree in the 
dictionary? 

Why do you think the author used these 
words? 

211. Written Exercise. 

Draw or paint some picture suggested to your 
mind by the poem. 


252 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section XCII. CLASSIFICATION OF SEN¬ 
TENCES. 

With respect to meaning , sentences are Asser¬ 
tive, Interrogative, Imperative, or Exclamatory. 

We must now classify them according to form. 

Examine the following sentences: 

1. 1 awoke early. 

2. I awoke when the clock struck six. 

3. The winds blew and the foods came . 

What is the subject of the first sentence ? the 
predicate ? 

In the second sentence, does I awoke help the 
assertion when the clock struck six , or does when 
the clock struck six help the assertion 1 awoke? 
Which of these groups of words may be viewed 
as the main assertion? Which depends on the 
main assertion or aids it ? 

How many assertions are made in the third 
sentence? How many clauses are there? Does 
either clause depend on or help the other? 

A sentence which contains only one subject 
and one predicate is called a Simple Sentence. 

A clause used as a dependent part of a sentence 
is called a Dependent Clause. 

A sentence containing one or more dependent 
clauses is called a Complex Sentence. 

A sentence containing two or more independ¬ 
ent clauses is called a Compound Sentence. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


253 


212 . Oral or Written Exercises. 

a. Separate each of the following compound sen¬ 
tences into its independent clauses: 

(1) There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked 
mile. 

(2) The way was long, the wind was cold. 

(3) They toil not, neither do they spin. 

(4) This little pig had roast meat, and this little pig had 
none. 

(5) Keep a watch on your words, for words are wonder¬ 
ful things. 

(6) Great torrents always seem angry, but there is no 
anger in the Rhone. 

(7) It is always morning somewhere, and somewhere the 
birds are singing evermore. 

(8) The eagle watches from his mountain walls, 

And like a thunderbolt he falls. 

b. Change the following simple sentences into 
complex sentences by expanding the italicized words 
or phrases into clauses: 

(1) People living in glass houses should not throw stones. 

(2) The man with the gray coat is the President. 

(3) A thing of beauty is a joy forever. 

(4) My sister will visit us in the summer. 

(5) At high tide we row out to the island. 

(6) No wind could shake the house built on a rock. 

(7) She was a lovely girl with charming manners. 

(8) Approaching the village , Rip Van Winkle met a num¬ 
ber of people. 


2 54 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


c. Change the following complex sentences into 
simple sentences by turning the italicized clauses 
into words or phrases: 

(1) Tell me how old you are. 

(2) He was very ill when he was in England. 

(3) Mercury had wings, which were on his feet. 

(4) Audubon loved the animals which lived near his 
home. 

(5) We read about Ulysses, who icas one of the ancient 
Greek heroes. 


Section XCIII. COMPOSITION. 

213. Oral Exercise. 

“‘There’s a piece of cake in the cupboard for you,’ 
quietly ticked the dining-room clock, its large face looking 
at no one in particular.” 

Imagine the clock has said this to you , and 
answer the following (guest ions: 

What kind of a tick did the clock have ? How did it 
make you feel ? Did you have the courage to take the 
cake ? Did you have to screw up your courage to open 
the cupboard door? What happened just as you were 
about to seize the cake ? 

214. Written Exercise. 

Write a story suggested by the above sentence. 
Try and make it very interesting to your readers. 
Give them a surprise , or a good laugh. Make them 
feel the loneliness and stillness of the big house. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


Section XCIY. [LITERATURE STUDY. 

This selection is from a beautiful book called 
“ Prue and I,” by George William Curtis. Many 
boys and girls have enjoyed hearing it tead 
aloud, and perhaps your teacher will find time 
to read parts of it to you. It will give you 
many lovely things to think about, and you will 
find yourself smiling quietly, as Titbottom did, as 
you listen to it. 


Castles in Spain. 

One Sunday I went with Titbottom a few miles into the 
country. It was a soft, bright day ; the fields and hills lay 
turned to the sky, as if every leaf and blade of grass were 
nerves bared to the touch of the sun. I almost felt the 
ground warm under my feet. The meadows waved and 
glittered, the lights and shadows , were exquisite, and the 
distant hills seemed only to remove the horizon farther 
away. As we strolled along, picking wild-flowers, for it was 
in summer, I was thinking what a fine day it was for a trip 
to Spain, when Titbottom suddenly exclaimed : 

“ Thank God ! I own this landscape.” 

“ You ? ” returned I. 

“ Certainly,” said he. 

“ Why,” I answered, “I thought this was part of Bourne’s 
property! ” 

Titbottom smiled. 

“ Does Bourne own the sun and sky ? Does Bourne own 
that sailing shadow yonder? Does Bourne own the golden 
luster of the grain, or the motion of the wood, or those ghosts 
of hills that glide pallid along the horizon? Bourne owns 
the dirt and fences; I own the beauty that makes the land¬ 
scape, or otherwise how could I own castles in Spain ?” 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


256 


That was very true. I respected Titbottom more than 
ever. 

“ Do you know,” said he, after a long pause, “ that I fancy 
my castles lie just beyond those distant hills ? At all events, 
I can see them distinctly from their summits.” 

He smiled quietly as he spoke, and it was then I asked : 

“But, Titbottom, have you never discovered the way to 
them ? ” 

“ Dear me! yes,” answered he, “ I know the way well 
enough ; but it would do no good to follow it. I should 
give out before I arrived. It is a long and difficult journey 
for a man of ray. years and habits—and income,” he added 
slowly.— George William Curtis. 

215. Interpretation. 

Read the first paragraph a second time. What 
a beautiful description of a summer day this is ! 

Titbottom was only a poor clerk, working 
hard all day in a dingy office ; but he was very 
rich in some ways. In what way was he per¬ 
haps richer than the owner of all that property ? 

Have you ever had a “castle in the air”? 
Sometimes we say “ when my ship comes in,” 
telling then the beautiful things we mean to do. 
Can you find out why castles in the air are often 
called “ castles in Spain ” ? 

216. Written Exercises. 

a. Tell three thmgs you would lihe to do iclien 
your ship comes in, and read them aloud. 

1). Write in one paragraph what you ha/ve found 
out about Castles in Spain. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


257 


Section XCV. PJUNCTUATIOX OF PHRASES 
ANI) CLAUSES. 

Examine the punctuation of the following sen¬ 
tences : 

1. I get up at night in winter. 

2. In winter, I get up at night. 

3. Make hay while the sun shines. 

4. While the sun shines, make hay. 

5. The wind, that grand old harper, smote his 
harp. 

6. Water, which falls from the clouds, is a ne¬ 
cessity of life. 

7. Water that is stagnant is unwholesome. 

4 1 

What difference is there between (1) and (2) 
in the order of words? in punctuation? What 
kind of group of words is in winter ? 

What difference is there between (3) and (4) 
in the order of words ? What word in (3) 
marks the beginning of the second clause? 

What marks the end of the first or the begin¬ 
ning of the second clause in (4)? 

What explanatory words might be omitted 
from (5) ? from' (6) ? Could the clause that is 
Stagnant be omitted from (7) ? 

Phrases and clauses which follow the words 
that they modify are said to be in their natural 
order. 

Phrases and clauses out of their natural order 
should he cut off by commas. 


258 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Explanatory phrases and clauses that might 
be omitted should be cut off by commas. 

The independent parts of a compound sen¬ 
tence should be separated by commas or semi¬ 
colons. 

The semicolon (;) should be used if one of the 
independent parts contains commas; otherwise 
a comma is sufficient. 


217 . Written Exercise. 

. « 

Copy or write from dictation the following sen¬ 
tences , inserting punctuation marks where they are 
needed: 

(1) Laughing merrily the boy ran down the street. 

(2) Judging from his looks I should say he is German. 

(3) When school was over we went to the woods. 

(4) Emma true to her promise posted the letter. 

(5) Pompey the great rival of Caesar was defeated in the 
battle of Pharsalia. 

(6) Her conduct generally speaking was admirable. 

(7) At his easel eagle-eyed a painter sat. 

(8) Good manners not fine clothing mark the gentleman. 

(9) Aluminum which exists in all clay is a valuable 
metal. 

(10) The airs that hover in the summer sky are all asleep 
to-night. 

(11) The birds sang the cattle lowed the brooks babbled. 

(12) Holmes is like Lowell a humorist but like Lowell he 
knows how to be serious. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


259 



WHERE LIES THE LAND? 


Section XCVI. LITERATURE STUDY. 


Where Lies the Land ? 

Where lies the land to which the ship would go ? 
Far, far ahead, is all her seamen know. 

And where the land she travels from? Away, 
Far, far behind, is all that they can say. 

On sunny noons, upon the deck’s smooth face, 
Linked arm in arm, how pleasant here to pace ; 
Or, o’er the stern reclining, watch below 
The foaming wake far widening as we go. 

On stormy nights, when wild northwesters rave, 
How proud a thing to fight with wind and wave ! 
The dripping sailor on the reeling mast 
Exults to bear, and scorns to wish it past. 

























2o0 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Where lie£ the land to which the ship would go? 
Far, far ahead, is all her seamen know. 

And where the land she travels from ? Away 
Far, far behind, is all that they can say. 

—Arthur Hugh Clough. 


218. Interpretation. 

Read the poem two or three times. Do you 
like it ? Is it musical ? 

Do you think the poet had anything in mind 
but a real ship and a real voyage? If so, what 
do you think it was ? 

Draw a picture suggested by the poem. 

Learn the poem and recite to your class. 


Memory Gem. 

Welcome, wild Northeaster ! 

Shame it is to see 
Odes to every zephyr, 

Ne’er a verse to thee. 
Welcome, black Northeaster ! 

O’er the German foam ; 
O’er the Danish moorlands 
From the frozen home. 


Come, and strong within us 
Stir the Viking’s blood ; 

Bracing brain and sinew ; 

Blow, thou wind of God. 

— Charles Kingsley. 


SENTENCES AND THEIR STRUCTURE 


261 


SUMMARY OF CHAPTER Y. 

A group of words expressing a thought is called 
a Sentence. 

Sentences that assert are called Assertive Sen¬ 
tences. 

Sentences that ask are called Interrogative Sen¬ 
tences. 

Sentences that command are called Imperative 
Sentences. 

Sentences that express strong feeling are called 
Exclamatory Sentences. 

The part of a sentence which names that about 
which an assertion is made is called the Subject. 

The asserting part of a sentence is called the 
Predicate. 

Every sentence must contain a subject and a 
predicate. 

The separation of a sentence into its parts is 
called Analysis. 

The subject of a sentence does not always come 
first. 

When the subject comes first, the sentence is 
said to be in the natural order. 

When the subject does not come first, the sen¬ 
tence is in inverted order. 

In an imperative sentence the predicate com¬ 
mands and the subject is generally omitted. 

The principal word in the subject of a sentence 
is called the Simple Subject. 

The asserting word in the predicate of a sen¬ 
tence is called the Verb. 

The verb is sometimes made up of two or more 
words. 

The parts of a verb are often separated by other 
words. 


262 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


A word added to a verb to complete the predicate 
is called a Complement. 

A complement that denotes the object on which 
the action of the verb falls is called an Object 
Complement. 

A complement that describes the subject is called 
an Attribute Complement. 

A verb that makes an assertion by coupling an 
attribute complement to the subject is called a 
Copula. 

A word joined to some part of a sentence to limit 
or modify the meaning is called a Modifier. 

A group of words used as a single word, and 
containing neither subject nor predicate, is called a 
Phrase. 

A group of words containing a subject and a 
predicate, and used as part of a sentence, is called 
a Clause. 

A sentence which contains only one subject and 
one predicate is called a Simple Sentence. 

A clause used as a dependent part of a sentence 
is called a Dependent Clause. 

A sentence containing one or more dependent 
clauses is called a Complex Sentence. 

A sentence containing two or more independent 
clauses is called a Compound Sentence. 

Phrases and clauses out of their natural order 
should be cut off by commas. 

Explanatory phrases and clauses that might be 
omitted should be cut off by commas. 

The independent parts of a compound sentence 
should be separated by commas or semicolons. 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


263 


Chapter VI 
The Parts of Speech 

Our language contains more than two hundred 
thousand words; but when we examine the ways 
in which these words are used in sentences, we 
find that we can arrange them all in a few gen¬ 
eral classes according to ivhat they do. These 
general classes are called the Parts of Speech. 

Verbs, or words used as the asserting part of 
a predicate, have been studied in Chapter V. 

Section XCVII. XOUXS. 

Read the following sentences: 

i. Washington lived at Mount Vernon. 

• 2. H is house is still there. 

3. Skating gives a boy pleasure. 

4. The island of Cuba is no longer a Spanish 
colony. 

Which word in the first sentence is used as 
the name of a person ? as the name of a place ? 
Which word in the second sentence is the name 
of an object? in the third? Which word in the 


2(34 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


third sentence is the name of an action ? of a 
feeling ? 

A word used as a name is called a Noun. 

Which word in the fourth sentence is the name 
of any body of land surrounded by water? 
Which word is the name of a particular body of 
land ? Which word is derived from the name 
of a particular, country ? 

A noun used as the name of a particular object 
is called a Proper Noun. 

A noun that is common to all objects of the 
same kind is called a Common Noun. 

Proper nouns and words derived from them 
should always begin with capital letters. 

The words father , mother , uncle , aunt, cousin , 
and others like them, are sometimes common 
nouns, and sometimes proper nouns. They are 
proper nouns when they are the customary 
names, or part of the customary names, used in 
addressing particular persons. Thus: 

My father is calling me. 

I am coming, Father. 

I have an uncle. 

I call him Uncle Henry. 

My dear cousin Jennie (if the writer is accus¬ 
tomed to call her “ Jennie”). 

My dear Cousin Jennie (if the writer is accus¬ 
tomed to call her “ Cousin Jennie”). 

To the Teacher .—If it is thought desirable, pupils maybe taught at this 
point that a noun used as an aitribute complement is called a Predicate 
Noun. 



THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


205 


219. Oral or Written Exercises. 

a. In the following sentences point out the names 
of Objects: 


(1) My books are in my desk. 

(2) The ink is on the table. 

(3) The robins are building a nest in the tree. 

( 4 ) The little bird sits at his door in the sun. 

1 ). In the following sentences point out the names 
of Sounds: 

(1) I hear sweet music. 

(2) A loud crash startled me. 

(3) Are you afraid of thunder? 

(4) The clash of sabers and the crack of pistols mingled 
with the booming of cannon and the roar of musketry. 

c. In the following sentences point out the names 
of Actions: 

(1) I am fond of walking. 

(2) She teaches us reading and writing. 

(3) Laughter is good for the health. 

(4) Swimming and diving are summer sports. 

d. In the following sentences point <out the names 
of Feelings: 

(1) He never knew fear. 

(2) Joy comes; grief goes. 

(3) He endured the agony bravely. 

(4) The pain in my head is neuralgia. 


266 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


e. In the following sentences point out the names 
of States or Conditions: 

(1) Life is earnest. 

(2) Death cometh soon or late. 

(3) Oh, sleep, it is a gentle thing. 

(4) She was overcome with fatigue. 

(5) She quickly recovered from her swoon. 

f. In the following sentences point out the names 
of Qualities: 

(1) He had no courage. 

(2) Wisdom is the principal thing. 

(3) He had the strength of a lion. 

( 4 ) America is the home of freedom. 

(5) He was honored for his obedience and truth. 

g. Point out all the Nouns in the following 
sentences: 

(1) Haste makes waste. 

(2) Honesty is the best policy. 

(3) Truth is stranger than fiction. 

(4) Pride goeth before destruction. 

(5) Sailing on this lake is dangerous. 

(6) A thing of beauty is a joy forever. 

(7) A little neglect may breed mischief. 

h. Mention a Proper Noun suggested to you by 
each of the following common nouns: 

boy girl man day month country inventor 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


267 


i. Give the noun that is common to all the indi¬ 
viduals in each of the following groups: 


Mary 

Emma 

Nellie 

Bertha 

Baltimore 

Denver 

Chicago 

Boston 


Washington 

Lincoln 

McKinley 

Cleveland 

Alabama 

Kansas 

Utah 

Minnesota 


Carlo 

Bruno 

Tray 

Rover 

Hudson 

Mississippi 

Rhine 

Danube 


220 . Written Exercises. 

a. Write the name of a hind of animal, of a 
hind of bird, of a vegetable, of a flower, of a tree, 
of a sound , of a, color , of a toy, of something to eat, 
of g feeling , of an action , of a taste. 

b. Mahe a list of the nouns in the following 
selection: 

For, lo! the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 
the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of 
birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our 
land ; the fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines 
with the tender grape give a good smell. 

& w rite the following sentences from dictation: 

(1) We use the English language. 

(2) Good morning, Uncle George. 

(3) Where are you going, Mother? 

(4) My mother lost her Swiss watch. 


268 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 



From *• High ways and Byways ’*—Copyright, 1882, by 
Harper & Brothers 


Section XCVIII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Robin Redbreast. 

Good-bye, good-bye to summer ! 

For summer’s nearly done ; 

The garden smiling faintly, 

Cool breezes in the sun ; 


.sir* 



THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


269 


Our thrushes now are silent, 

Our swallows flown away,— 

But Robin’s here with coat of brown, 
And ruddy breast-knot gay. 

Robin, Robin Redbreast, 

O Robin dear ! 

Robin sings so sweetly 
In the falling of the year. 


Bright yellow, red, and orange, 

The leaves come down in hosts; 

The trees are Indian princes, 

But soon they’ll turn to ghosts; 

The scanty pears and apples 
Hang russet on the bough ; 

It’s autumn, autumn, autumn late, 

’Twill soon be winter now. 

Robin, Robin Redbreast, 

O Robin dear! 

And what will this poor Robin do ? 
For pinching days are near. 


The fireside for the cricket, 

The wheat stack for the mouse, 

When trembling night winds whistle 
And moan all round the house. 

The frosty ways like iron, 

The branches plumed with snow,— 

Alas ! in winter dead and dark, 

Where can poor Robin go ? 

Robin, Robin Redbreast, 

O Robin dear ! 

And a crumb of bread for Robin, 

His little heart to cheer ! 

— William Allingham. 




270 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


221. Interpretation. 

How does the poem make you feel toward 
Robin Redbreast? 

In what way is the thought in the poem 
like that in “ The Sandpiper ” ? Which poem do 
you like the better ? Why ? 

What is a “garden smiling faintly”? 

When are the trees “ Indian princes”? When 
will they “turn to ghosts”? 

What are “ pinching days ” ? 

How are the frosty ways like iron? 

What is meant by “ plumed with snow”? 

Can you tell why plumed is prettier than 
covered would have been ? 

222. Oral Exercises. 

a. Name for your classmates your favorite bird , 
and tell what you can about its liabits and life. 
Make what you tell as interesting as you can. 

b. Recite any other poem you may recall about 
the Robin. 

c. Tell what you can about the habits of birds in 
winter. 

d. Tell a story about autumn birds. 

e. Talk about autumn flowers , arranging your 
thoughts in the following order: 


(1) Their haunts. 

(2) Their character. 


(3) Their coloring. 

(4) How they grow. 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


271 


223 . Written Exercises. 

a. Copy all the lines in “ Robin Redbreast ” in 
which you find comparisons. 

b. Copy all the lines in “Robin Redbreast ” 
which call up in your mind pretty pictures, and 
tell which is the prettiest. 

c. Write a short description of something sug¬ 
gested by this poem. Use some comparisons. Give 
a pretty name to the description. 

d. Paint one of the pictures called up by the 
poem, and bring it to your teacher. Give the 
picture a pretty name. 

e. Copy or write from dictation the following : 

One season, to protect my early cherries, I placed a large 
stuffed owl amid the branches of the tree. Such a racket as 
there instantly began about my grounds is not pleasant to 
think upon ! The orioles and robins fairly “ shrieked out 
their affright.” The news instantly spread in every direc¬ 
tion, and apparently every bird in town came to see that 
owl in the cherry-tree, and every bird took a cherry, so that 
I lost more fruit than if I had left the owl indoors .—John 
Burroughs. 

Memory Gem. 

They’ll come again to the apple-tree— 

Robin and all the rest, 

When the orchard branches are fair to see 
In the snow of the blossoms dressed, 

And the prettiest thing in the world will be 
The building of the nest. 

—Margaret E. Sangster . 


272 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section XCTX. COMPOSITION. 

224. Oral Exercise. 

Talk with your teacher about Snow : its causes, 
its nature, its appearance, its uses, and everything 
else about it that interests you. 


225. Written Exercises. 

a. Write four paragraphs about Snow, making 
them as interesting and vivid as you can, and 
using this outline: 

(1) Origin. 

(2) Appearance of the flakes, 

(1) in the sky ; 

(2) in the hand ; 

(3) on the ground 

(3) Effect on life. 

(4) Snow games. 

b. With the picture of the lost sheep open before 
you, write a description of that storm , using as 
many of the words in “ Robin Redbreast v as will 
fit your description. 

c. Write an account of a severe snow-storm 
within your own knowledge. 

Memory Gem. 

Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains; 

They crowned him long ago, 

On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds, 

With a diadem of snow. 


—Lord Byron. 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


273 


Section C. PRONOUNS. 

Compare the following sentences: 

1. Ralph bought Ralph a top; the top Ralph 
gave to Ralph’s sister Laura; Laura wanted the 
top. 

2. Ralph bought himself a top, which he after-, 
ward gave to his sister Laura, who wanted it. 

Does the first sentence sound well? Does it 
mention one boy, or more than one ? Does it 
mention one girl, or more than one ? 

In the second sentence what three words are 
used to avoid the repetition of the name Ralph , 
and to make it clear that only one Ralph is meant? 
What two words are used instead of the top? 
What word is used instead of the name Laura? 

A word used to stand for a noun is called a 
Pronoun. 


22(i. Oral Exercises. 

a. Fill each of the following blanks with pro¬ 
nouns referring to yourself: 

(1) -know Mary. (3) Mary is-cousin. 

(2) Mary knows-. (4) The pen she is using is-. 

h. Fill each of the following blanks with a pro¬ 
noun referring to yourself and another person : 

(1) *-love Carlo. (3) Carlo is-dog. 

(2) Carlo loves-. (4) Yes, he is-. 










2 74 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


c. What words do you use as substitutes for 
the names of persons to whom you are speaking f 

d. Point out the pronouns in the following sen¬ 
tences, and tell for ivhat each stands: 

(1) This is the house that Jack built. 

(2) The trees have shed their leaves. 

(3) Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep, 

And cannot tell where to find them. 

( 4 ) I, who am your chief, command you. 

(5) Did you find the knife which was lost? 

(6) Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 

(7) I saw him once before as he passed by the door. 

(8) I have a squirrel that lives in my study wall. He 
is on the lookout for the apples which I provide for the 
little rabbit that lives under the floor, and he often gets them. 

227. Written Exercises. 

a. Rewrite the following sentences y using pro¬ 
nouns instead of nouns when necessary to avoid 
repetition or obscurity: 

(1) Charles has lost Charles’s pencil. 

(2) Bessie has learned Bessie’s lesson. 

(3) The baby cried because the baby lost the baby’s 
rattle. 

(4) As Fred was going to the village, Fred’s cousin met 
Fred. 

(5) The wind blew the wind’s hardest. 

b. Make a list of the pronouns in the sentences 
on page 265 . 




THE PARTS OF SPEECH 



YOUNG LOCH 1 NVAR. 


Section Cl. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Young Lochinvar. 

Oh, young Lochinvar is come out of the West ! 
Through all the wide Border his steed is the best; 

And, save his good broadsword, he weapons had none ; 
He rode all unarm’d, and he rode all alone; 

So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, 

There never was knight like the young Lochinvar! 

He stay’d not for brake and he stopp’d not for stone ; 
He swam the Eske River where ford there was none ; 
But ere he alighted at Netherby gate, 

The bride had consented ; the gallant came late ; 

For a laggard in love and a dastard in war 
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar. 






276 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


So boldly he jenter’d the Netherby Hall, 

Among bridesmen and kinsmen and brothers and all ;— 
Then spoke the bride’s father, his hand on his sword, 

For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word, 

“Oh, come ye in peace here, or come ye in war, 

Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar ? ” 

—“ I long woo’d your daughter, my suit you denied; 

Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide ; 

And now am I come with this lost Love of mine 
To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine. 

There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far 
That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar! ” 

The bride kiss’d the goblet, the knight took it up, 

He quaff’d off the wine and he threw down the cup; 

She look’d down to blush, and she look’d up to sigh, 

With a smile on her lips and a tear in her eye:— 

He took her soft hand ere her mother could bar; 

“ Now tread we a measure ! ” said young Lochinvar. 

So stately his form, and so lovely her face, 

That never a hall such a galliard did grace : 

While her mother did fret and her father did fume, 

And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume 
And the bride-maidens whispered, “’Twere better by far 
To have match’d our fair cousin with young Lochinvar!” 

One touch to her hand and one word in her ear, 

When they reach’d the hall door; and the charger stood 
near; . 

So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung, 

So light to the saddle before her he sprung! 

“ She is won ! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur, 
They’ll have fleet steeds that follow!” cried young Lochinvar. 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


277 


There was mounting ’mong Graemes of the Netherby clan ; 
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran; 
There was racing and chasing on Cannobie lea ; 

But the lost bride of Netherby ne’er did they see. 

So daring in love, and so dauntless in war, 

Have ye e’er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar ! 

—Sir Walter Scott. 


228 . Interpretation. 

Where was the Border? the Solway ? the Eske 
River ? 

What do you like about the young knight 
Lochinvar? Point out lines that show he was 
daring in love. 

Why was Lochinvar in such a hurry to reach 
Netherby Hall ? At what point in the festivities 
did he arrive ? Read the lines that show what 
sort of fellow the bridegroom was. Why do you 
think the father and mother objected to young 
Lochinvar ? 

Tell what Lochinvar saw as he entered Nether¬ 
by Hall. What things show that the bride was 
in love with him ? 

Why does Scott mention the steed so early in 
the story ? Why does he end each stanza with 
young Loch invar ? 

In which stanza is the most exciting part of 
the story reached ? 

Give the meaning of brake, dastard, gadliard , 
(piaffed, croupe, scaur, clan, lea. 


278 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


What poetical words are used in the poem 
instead of horse ? 

What do you like about the poem ? Do you 
find it easy to read ? Why ? 

229. Written Exercises. 

a. How teas the word “gallant ” used in the poem 
“At Sea ” ? How is, it used in “Lochinvar ” ? 

b. Write definitions of the following words: 

dauntless gallant charger 

alighted laggard ebbs 

quaffed fume plume 

c. Use the following words in sentences, to show 

that you understand their meaning: 

? ♦ 

alighted laggard fume charger 

d. Use the following words as direct objects: 

dauntless gallant plume ebbs 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

We sit in the warm shade and feel right well; 

How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell; 

We may shut our eyes, but we cannot hejp knowing 
That skies are clear and grass is growing. 

-—James Hussell Lowell. 

II. 

How fleet is a glance of the mind ! 

Compared with the speed of its flight 
The tempest itself lags behind, 

And the swift-winged arrows of light. 

— William Cowper. 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


279 


Section CII. COMPOSITION. 

The Birds once had a debate about the charac¬ 
ter of Man. Some of the birds thought he was 
a mean creature, others held that he was kind. 

230. Oral Exercise. 

Choose sides for a debate. Theri consider how 
Man must appear to the Birds, and debate the 
following question , from the birds ’ view-point: 

Is Man a good Creature ? 

Mention as many reasons as you can why Birds 
might think Man “good,” and as many others as 
you can why they might call him “ mean.” 

231. Written Exercise. 

Write out the reasons why Birds might think 
Man a good creature , or the reasons why they might 
think him mean. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

Hear how the birds, on every blooming spray, 

With joyous music wake the dawning day! 

—Alexander Pope. 

II. 

Ye gentlemen of England 
That live at home at ease, 

Ah ! little do you think upon 

The dangers of the seas,— Parker. 


280 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


III. 

Sleep and rest, sleep and rest, 

Father will come to thee soon; 

Rest, rest, on mother’s breast, 

Father will come to thee soon ; 

Father will come to his babe in the nest, 

Silver sails all out of the west 
Under the silver moon : 

Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep. 

—A If red Tennyson. 


Section CIII. ADJECTIVES. 


Read the following: 


Black > 

Slow 

Fast 

Three 

Those - 

Some 

Both 

No 

The 


horses have gone by. 


What kind of word is horses? What words 
are used to modify or narrow the meaning of the 
noun 1 torses? 


Read the following sentences: 

1. Tired and hungry, he lay down to sleep. 

2. He was tired and hungry. 




THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


281 


Who, in each of these sentences, was tired 
and hungry? What, then, do the words tired 
and hungry modify? What kind of word is he? 

A word used to modify a noun or a pronoun is 
called an Adjective. 

The adjectives “a” or “an” and “the” are 
called Articles. 

“ A ” should be used before a consonant sound, 
“ an ” before a vowel sound. 

Sound and spelling do not always coincide. 
For example, unit begins with the vowel u; but 
the beginning sound is that of the consonant 
y in “you.” Hence we say “ an apple,” “ a unit.” 
Honor begins with the consonant h; but the be¬ 
ginning sound is that of the vowel o. Hence we 
say “a horse,” “an honor.” 


232. Oral or Written Exercises. 

a. Mention as many adjectives as you can think 
of that might he used to modify each of the follow¬ 
ing nouns: 

flowers water animal river wood dog 

h. Use each of the following adjectives in a sen¬ 
tence : 

ripe strong deep clean the 

old smooth friendly three a or an 

To the Teacher .—If it is thought desirable, pupils may at this point be 
taught that an adjective used as an attribute complement is called a Predicate 
Adjective. 



282 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


c. Join each of the following adjectives to an 
appropriate noun: 


scarlet 

awful 

deafening 

timid 

crimson 

horrid 

fragrant 

fleet 

purple 

lovely 

balmy 

graceful 

gorgeous 

beautiful 

delicious 

gentle 

splendid 

audible 

luscious 

cunning 

elegant 

stunning 

rough 

ferocious 


d. Point out the adjectives in the following sen - 


tences: 



(1) I am late. 

(9) 

She is cold. 

(2) The sky is blue. 

(10) 

This knife is dull. 

(3) I have ten marbles. 

(to 

Tom has a new sled. 

(4) The gray horse is lame. 

(12) 

Most dogs like the water. 

(5) Several boys went with 

(13) 

Is there any water in the 

me. 


pitcher ? 

(6) Our next lesson is on the 

(14) 

The water in the lake 

sixteenth page. 


is cold. 

(7) Our flag is red, white, 

(iS) 

These cherries are not 

and blue. 


ripe. 

(8) I am never merry when I 

(16) 

A little learning is a 

hear sweet music. 


dangerous thing. 


(17) Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest. 
Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving. 

— William Shakespeare . 


e. Put the proper word, “an” or “ af before 
each of the following: 


boy orange 

peach tree 


union eagle 

umpire 


horn 

hour 


ewe 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


283 



BUT, RIDE AS THEY WOULD THE KING RODE FIRST, 
FOR HIS ROSE OF THE ISLES LAY—DYING. 


Section CIV. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Head the following poem: 

The King of Denmark’s Ride. 

Word was brought to the Danish king, 

(Hurry!) 

That the love of his heart lay suffering, 

And pined for the comfort his voice would bring; 

(Oh, ride as if you were flying!) 

Better he loves each golden curl 
On the brow of that Scandinavian girl 
Than his rich crown-jewels of ruby and pearl; 
And his Rose of the Isles is dying. 














284 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Thirty nobles saddled with speed ; 

(Hurry!) 

Each one mounted a gallant steed 
Which he kept for battle and days of need ; 

(Oh, ride as though you were flying !) 

Spurs were stuck in the foaming flank, 
Worn-out chargers staggered and sank ; 
Bridles were slackened and girths were burst; 
But, ride as they would, the king rode first, 
For his Rose of the Isles lay dying. 


His nobles are beaten, one by one ; 

(Hurry!) 

They have fainted, and faltered, and homeward gone ; 
The little fair page now follows alone, 

For strength and for courage trying. 

The king looked back at that faithful child, 

Wan was the face that answering smiled. 

They passed the drawbridge with clattering din, 

Then he dropped, and only the king rode in 
Where his Rose of the Isles lay dying. 


The king blew a blast on his bugle-horn, 

(Silence!) 

No answer came, but faint and forlorn 
An echo returned on the cold gray morn. 

Like the breath of a spirit sighing: 

The castle portal stood grimly wide ; 

None welcomed the king from that weary ride ! 
For, dead in the light of the dawning day, 

The pale, sweet form of the welcomer lay, 

Who had yearned for his voice while dying. 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


285 


The panting steed with a drooping crest 
Stood weary; 

The king returned from the chamber of rest, 

The thick sobs choking in his breast, 

And that dumb companion eying, 

The tears gushed forth, which he strove to check ; 
He bowed his head on Ids charger’s neck,— 

“ O steed that every nerve didst strain. 

Dear steed ! our ride hath been in vain 
To the halls where my love lay dying.” 

— Caroline Elizabeth Norton. 


23.3. Interpretation. 

Who do you think brought the word? 

Why was the king able to outride his 
followers? How could the little page keep up 
so long? 

Do you think the king knew before he entered 
the castle that his ride had been in vain? What 
first told him he was too late? 

What must have been the relation between 
the king and his horse? Why should he go to 
the dumb animal for sympathy? Why, in spite 
of himself, did his tears gush forth at sight of the 
panting steed? 

What effect do the words in parentheses have 
as you read the poem? 

Choose the best descriptions and tell why you 
like them. If you wished an artist to paint a 
picture suggested by the poem, which line or 
stanza would you choose? 


286 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


234. Oral Exercise. 

Tell in your own words the story of the King of 
Denmark's Hide. 


235. Written Exercises. 

a. Make a list of the colors in the poem. 

b. Make a list of the sounds in the poem. 

c. Write the Oral Exercise. 

d. Draw a picture of something suggested to your 
mind by the poem. 

e. Imagine yourself either the King or a servant 
at the Castle, and tell the story of u The King of 
Denmark's Hide "from your point of view. 

Memory Gem. 

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, 

Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. 

Section CV. COMPOSITION. 

230. Oral Exercise. 

If you have ever had a hurried or exciting rule, 
tell about it, making your story as interesting as 
you can. 

237. Written Exercises. 

a. Write the Oral Exercise . 

b. Write an account of an imaginary ride or 
journey, making it as interesting and exciting as 
yon can. 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


2S7 


Section CVI. ADVERBS. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. The girls sang well. 

2. This is a very warm day. 

3. You read too fast. 

What kind of word is sang? Why? What 
word modifies it ? 

What kind of word is warm? Why ? What 
word modifies warm? 

How is the word fast used? What word 
modifies fast? 

A word used to modify a verb or a modifier is 
called an Adverb. 

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other 
adverbs. 


23S. Oral or Written Exercises. 

a. Enlarge the following sentences by adding 
adverbs that tell liow: 


(1) Snails move-. 

(2) It was-cold. 

(3) The brook runs-. 

(4) Jack Frost works -. 

(5) The soldiers fought-. 

(6) The cherries are-ripe. 

(7) It became - dark to 

read. 

(8) She mended her dress 


(9) We waited-. 

(10) That is-true. 

(it) The snow fell-. 

(12) The horse ran-. 

(13) The man worked-. 

(14) The sun is-warm. 

(15) The wind was blowing 

(16) Lead is - heavier 

than silver. 











288 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


b. Enlarge the following sentences by adding 


adverbs that show when: 

(1) John called. 

(2) I wrote a letter. 

(3) Speak the truth. 

(4) They went home. 

(5) The bell will ring. 

(6) Father came home. „ 


(7) He - spoke of the 

war. 

(8) The tramp -came 

back. 

(9) They - do their 

best. 


c. Enlarge the following sentences by adding 


adverbs that show where: 

(1) Jack fell. 

(2) The man stood. 

(3) The dog jumped. 

(4) The train moved. 


(5) The bird flew. 

(6) He threw his hat. 

(7) A house will be built. 

(8) The cherry tree stood. 


d. Mention as many adverbs as you can think of 
that might be used to modify each of the following 
words: 


Verbs. 

Adjectives. 

Adverbs. 

ran 

warm 

slowly 

sit 

close 

often 

laugh 

dark 

fast 


e. Use each of the following adverbs in a sentence: 


well 

often 

never 

quite 

seldom 

soon 

always 

rather 

exceedingly 

here 

sometimes 

hardly 

too 

now 

more 

carefully 

downward 

much 

nearly 

twice 

not 

once 

surely 

truly 

then 

almost 

wholly 

yesterday 




THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


289 


f. Point out the adverbs in the following sen¬ 
tences, and tell what each modifies: 

(1) The shades of night were falling fast 

(2) Solemnly sang the village choir. 

(3) The night is come, but not too soon. 

(4) The lowing herd winds slowly o’er the lea. 

(5) Slowly, painfully, he climbed up step by step. 

(6) Nearly twenty million boys and girls go to school in 
the United States 

(7) Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship, 

Yet she sailed softly too. 

—Samuel Taylor Coleridge . 

g. Do again Exercise 201 , d, and tell whether 
the modifiers are Adjectives or Adverbs. 


Memory Gems. 

I. 

In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold, 
Alike fantastic if too new or old: 

Be not the first by whom the new are tried, 

Nor yet the last to lay the old aside. 

—Alexander Pope. 


II. 

Dreams, books, are each a world ; and books, we know, 
Are a substantial world, both pure and good. 

Round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood, 
Our pastime and our happiness will grow. 

— William Wordsworth. 


290 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section CVII. LITERATURE STUDY. 

The following poem tells of a ride made from 
Ghent, in Belgium, to Aix-la-Chapelle, in France, 
to bring word of the treaty—a piece of news that, 
if in time, would save Aix from burning by her 
own citizens. Three riders—Joris, Dirck, and 
the man who tells the tale—start at midnight. 
The next afternoon the horse Roland gallops 
into Aix with his rider. Aix, in the siege, has 
used up nearly all her wine ; but a last measure 
is found, and the burgesses vote that it belongs 
to the horse. The story is purely imaginary. 

How They Brought the Good News from 
Ghent to Aix. 

I sprung to the stirrup, and Joris and he : 

I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three; 

“ Good speed ! ” cried the watch as the gate-bolts undrew, 

“ Speed ! ” echoed the wall to us galloping through; 

Behind shut the postern, the lights sank to rest, 

And into the midnight we galloped abreast. 

Not a word to each other; we kept the great pace— 

Neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing our place; 

I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight, 

Then shortened each stirrup and set the pique right, 
Rebuckled the check-strap, chained slacker the bit, 

Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit. 

’Twas a moonset at starting ; but while we drew near 
Lokeren, the cocks crew and twilight dawned clear; 

At Boom a great yellow star came out to see; 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


291 


At Diiffeld ’twas morning as plain as could be; 

And from Mecheln church-steeple we heard the half-chime— 
So Joris broke silence with “Yet there is time ! ” 

At Aerschot up leaped of a sudden the sun, 

And against him the cattle stood black every one, 

To stare through the mist at us galloping past; 

And I saw my stout galloper Roland at last, 

With resolute shoulders, each butting away 
The haze, as some bluff river headland its spray; 

And his low head and crest, just one sharp ear bent back 
For my voice, and the other pricked out on his track ; 

And one eye’s black intelligence—ever that glance 
O’er its white edge at me, his own master, askance; 

And the thick heavy spume-flakes, which aye and anon 
His fierce lips shook upward in galloping on. 

By Hasselt Dirck groaned ; and cried Joris, “Stay spur ! 
Your Roos galloped bravely, the fault’s not in her; 

We’ll remember at Aix ”—for one heard the quick wheeze 
Of her chest, saw the stretched neck, and staggering knees, 
And sunk tail, and horrible heave of the flank, 

As down on her haunches she shuddered and sank. 

So we were left galloping, Joris and I, 

Past Looz and past Tongres, no cloud in the sky ; 

The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh; 

’Neath our feet broke the brittle, bright stubble like chaff; 
Till over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white, 

And “Gallop,” gasped Joris, “for Aix is in sight! ” 

“How they’ll greet us ! ”—and all in a moment his roan 
Rolled neck and croup over, lay dead as a stone; 

And there was my Roland to bear the whole weight 
Of the news which alone could save Aix from her fate, 

With his nostrils like pits full of blood to the brim, 

And with circles of red for his eye-sockets’ rim. 


292 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Then I cast loose my buff-coat, each holster let fall, 

Shook off both my jack-boots, let go belt and all, 

Stood up in the stirrup, leaned, patted his ear, 

Called my Roland his pet-name, my horse without peer— 
Clapped my hands, laughed and sung, any noise,bad or good, 
Till at length into Aix Roland galloped and stood. 

And all I remember is friends flocking round, 

As I sate with his head ’twixt my knees on the ground ; 
And no voice but was praising this Roland of mine, 

As I poured down his throat our last measure of wine, 
Which (the burgesses voted by common consent) 

Was no more than his due who brought good news from 
Ghent. —Robert Browning. 


239. Interpretation. 

Who is speaking? Who is the hero? When 
do you find this out? 

What traits of character does Roland show 
beside that of obedience to his masters word ? 
Does he show any human qualities? Give 
illustrations. 

What actions of the riders show their desper¬ 
ate haste? Tell how the efforts of horses and 
riders increase as they near Aix. What did 
Roland’s master do to encourage him ? How 
did Roland respond? Do you wish the poet 
had told us Roland’s pet name? 

How does the poet make the approach of 
daylight fit into the story? How does the first 
line of the poem foretell the kind of story it is 
to be? 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


293 


Real aloud the first two lines of the second 
stanza. Can you see the picture drawn by the 
poet ? Can you hear the gallop of the horses’ 
hoofs ? Read other lines of which the same 
thing can be said. 

Section CVIII. COMPOSITION. 

240. Oral Exercise. 

Tell to the class a good story you have read of 
the love of a noble horse for a good master. 

241. Written Exercises. 

a. Copy the lines in the preceding poem which 
cedi up very vivid pictures. 

b. Copy all the comparisons Browning uses , and 
tell which you like best. 

c. Write one of the stories told in the class dur¬ 
ing the oral lesson. Try to improve on the way it 
was told. Do not use more words than you need 
to express what is in your mind\ but seek variety 
and beauty in your expression. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, 

Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastern hill. 

— William Shakespeare. 

IE 

Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, 

With charm of earliest birds. John Milton. 


294 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section CIX. PREPOSITIONS. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. Margaret walked over the bridge. 

2. Margaret walked under the bridge. 

3. Margaret walked to the bridge. 

4. Margaret walked past the bridge. 

5. Margaret walked oh the bridge. 

6. Margaret walked across the bridge. 

Which words show the relation of the bridge 
to Margaret’s walking? Mention some other 
words that might be used to show relation be¬ 
tween the bridge and the walking. 

A word placed before a noun or a pronoun to 
show its relation to some other word is called a 
Preposition. 

The noun or the pronoun used with a preposi¬ 
tion is called the Object of the Preposition. 

A preposition and its object are often sepa¬ 
rated by other words ; as : 

He came with two thousand men. 

Her dress was trimmed with soft white silk1 

Sometimes the preposition comes after its 
object; as: 

What are you looking at? = At what are you 
looking? 

What is he resting on? = On what is he 
resting ? 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


295 


242 . Oral or Written Exercises. 

a. Mention as many prepositions as you can 
that might he used in each of the following blanks : 

(1) The squirrel ran-a tree. 

(2) The book is-the table. 

(3) He put the box-the wagon. 

(4) The man-you is my father. 

(5) Tom went-the house. 

(6) The railroad runs-the hill. 

(7) The ship sailed- the river. 

(8) The apple-the desk is mine. 

h. Use each of the following prepositions in a 
sentence: 


after 

off 

around 

in 

at 

with 

beneath 

until 

by 

above 

between 

without 

for 

against 

beyond • 

during 

of 

among 

toward 

except 


c. Point out the prepositions and their objects in 
the following sentences: 

(1) Snow comes from the clouds. 

(2) Her coat was lined with silk. 

(3) The apples on this tree are sour. 

(4) A beautiful scene lay before us. 

(5) Above us was the bright blue sky. 

(6) Three wise men of Gotham went to sea in a bowl. 

(7) She dwelt among the untrodden ways 

Beside the springs of Dove. 

— William Wordsworth. 










296 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section CX. LITERATURE STUDY. 

The National Flag. 

There is the national flag! He must be cold, indeed, who 
can look upon its folds rippling in the breeze without pride 
of country. If he be in a foreign land the flag is compan¬ 
ionship and country itself, with all its endearments. It has 
been called a“ floating piece of poetry,” and yet I know not 
if it have greater beauty than other ensigns. Its highest 
beauty is in what it symbolizes. It is because it represents 
all, that all gaze at it with delight and reverence. It is a 
piece of bunting lifted in the air, but it speaks sublimely, 
and every part has a voice. Its stripes of alternate red and 
white proclaim the original union of thirteen States to main¬ 
tain the Declaration of Independence. Its stars of white 
on a field of blue proclaim that union of States constituting 
our national constellation, which receives a new star with 
every new State. The two together signify union, past and 
present. The very colors have a language which was offi¬ 
cially recognized by our fathers. White is for purity, red 
for valor, blue for justice; and all together, bunting, stars, 
stripes, and colors, blazing in the sky, make the flag of our 
country—to be cherished by all our hearts, to be upheld by 
all our hands. —Charles Sumner. 

And for your country, boy, and for that flag, never dream 
a dream but of serving her as she bids you. . . . You be¬ 
long to her as you belong to your own mother .—Edward 
Everett Hale. 


343. Interpretation. 

On what days in the year are we sure of see* 
ing the stars and stripes floating from every 
public building in the country? 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


297 


How would it mean companionship to one in 
a foreign country? If you were going to a for¬ 
eign land, would you take an American flag 
with you ? 

What do its stripes proclaim ? its stars ? 

What is the meaning of the different colors ? 

Why is the flag called a “ floating piece of 
poetry ” ? 

What does the flag say to every American as 
it ripples in the breeze ? Why do we gaze at it 
with delight ? with reverence ? 

How can we serve our country in time of 
peace ? Name some men and women who have 
served their country in time of peace, and tell 
how they did it. 

How do we belong to our country as to our 
own mother? 

Learn one of these selections to recite at the 
next celebration of a national holiday. 

Memory Gems. 

I. 

The United States is the only country with a known 
birthday .—James G. Blaine. 

II. 

Off with your hat as the flag goes by ! 

And let the heart have its say; 

You’re man enough for a tear in your eye 
That you’ll not wipe away. 


298 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


The old tune thunders through the air, 

And strikes right into your heart ; 

If it ever calls for you, boy, be there ! 

Be there, and ready to start. 

—JL C. Bunner. 


III. 

For Romans in Rome’s quarrel spared neither land nor 
gold, 

Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life, in the brave days of 
old. 

Then none was for a party ; then all were for the state ; 

Then the great man helped the poor, and the poor man 
loved the great ; 

Then lands were fairly portioned ; then spoils were fairly 
sold. 

The Romans were like brothers in the brave days of old. 

— Thomas Babington Macaulay. 


Section CXI. COMPOSITION. 

Talk with yo ur teacher or some f riend about one 
of the following subjects, and then write a composi¬ 
tion on it, choosing the subject about which you 
think you have most to say: 

1. The Old Flag. 

2. The Stars and Stripes in the Philippines. 

3. What the Flag of the “ Oregon ” Saw. 

4. Serving Our Country. 

Memory Gem. 

He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an 
.uncertainty.— Samuel Johnson. 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


299 


Section CXII. CONJUNCTIONS. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. I ran fast, but I missed the train. 

2. We walked across the meadow and through 
the woods. 

3. Is that story true or false? 

4. The dinner will be cold unless you hurry. 

What two assertions are made in the first sen¬ 
tence ? What kind of groups of words are I ran 
fast and I missed the train? What word is used 
to connect them ? 

What phrases are used in the second sen¬ 
tence ? What do they modify? What word 
connects them ? 

What connecting word does the third sen¬ 
tence contain ? What does it connect ? 

A word used to connect clauses, phrases, or 
words is called a Conjunction. 

Read the following sentences: 

1. Rob will go if Ethel goes. 

2. If Ethel goes, Rob will go. 

What conjunction does the first sentence con¬ 
tain ? What does it connect ? What clauses are 
contained in the second sentence? What con¬ 
junction connects them ? 

Conjunctions sometimes stand first in the sen¬ 
tence. 


300 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


244. Oral or Written Exercises. 

a. Point out tlie conjunctions in the following 
sentences , and tell what they connect: 

(1) Paul and Malcolm are brothers. 

(2) Is she your sister or your cousin ? 

(3) You will be late unless you hurry. 

(4) We called, but they did not answer. 

(5) Our band is few, but true and tried. 

(6) I stumbled as I was going downstairs. 

(7) Freely we serve because we freely love. 

(8) As I was going down the street, I met Rab. 

(9) Unless you write it down, you will forget it. 

(10) He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone. 

(n) He deserved to succeed, for he worked hard. 

(12) People loved her because she was kind to them. 

I). Fill each blank in the following sentences with 
an appropriate conjunction: 

(1) Bessie-I are cousins. 

(2) They have bread-no butter. 

(3) Is his name Smith-Jones ? 

(4) Carrie will come-it rains. 

(5) Carrie will not come —-it rains. 

(6) -y6u run, you will not overtake him. 

( 7 ) — — you run, you will overtake him. 

c. Use each of the following conjunctions in a 
sentence: 

if or yet and but 

for since unless although because 










THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


301 


Section ( XIII. INTERJECTIONS. 

Read the follow in g sentence: 

Hark! the dogs are barking. 

What is the subject of this sentence? the 
predicate? Is Hark! a part of the subject? of 
the predicate? What is the use of the word 
Hark! 

A word used as a sudden expression of feeling, 
but not forming part of a sentence, is called an 
Interjection. 

An interjection should be followed by an 
exclamation point. 

245. Oral or Written Exercises. 

Point out the Interjections in the following sen¬ 
tences : 

(1) And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest. 

(2) Hark ! was there ever so merry a note ? 

(3) Oh ! I have spilled my ink. 

(4) Pshaw ! there goes the bell. 

(5) Alas ! there is now no time. 

(6) Ah ! there she comes. 

(7) Hurrah ! the game is ours. 

Memory Gem. 

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. 

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, 

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel. 

—William Shakespeare. 


$02 MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 

Section CXIY. LITERATURE STUDY. 

Carcassonne. 



CARCASSONNE TOWER. 


I’m growing old, I’m sixty years ; 
I’ve labored all my life in vain : 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


303 


In all that time of hopes and fears 
I’ve failed my dearest wish to gain. 

I see full well that here below 
Bliss unalloyed there is for none, 

My prayer will ne’er fulfillment know— 

I never have seen Carcassonne, 

I never have seen Carcassonne. 

You see the city from the hill, 

It lies beyond the mountains blue; 
And yet to reach it one must still 

Five long and weary leagues pursue— 
And, to return, as many more. 

Ah! had the vintage plenteous grown ' 
The grape withheld its yellow store: 

I shall not look on Carcassonne, 

I shall not look on Carcassonne. 

They tell me every day is there 

No more nor less than Sunday gay ; 

In shining jewels and garments fair 
The people walk upon their way. 

One gazes there on castle walls 
As grand as those of Babylon, 

A bishop, and two generals: 

I do not know fair Carcassonne, 

I do not know fair Carcassonne. 

The cure’s right ; he says that we 
Are ever wayward, weak, and blind; 
He tells us in his homily 
Ambition ruins all mankind. 

Yet could I there two days have spent, 
While still the autumn sweetly shone, 
Ah me ! I might have died content 
When I had looked on Carcassonne, 
When I had looked on Carcassonne. 


304 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Thy pardon, father, I beseech, 

In this my prayer if I offend ; 

One sometimes sees beyond his reach, 

From childhood to his journey’s end. 

My wife, our little boy, Aignan, 

Have traveled even to Narbonne; 

My grandchild has seen Perpignan, 

And I have not seen Carcassonne, 

And I have not seen Carcassonne. 

So crooned, one day, close by Limoux, 

A peasant, double bent with age. 

“Rise up, my friend,” said I; “with you 
I’ll go upon this pilgrimage.” 

We left next morning his abode, 

But (Heaven forgive me !) half way on 
The old man died upon the road ; 

He never gazed on Carcassonne. 

Each mortal has his Carcassonne. 

—From the French of Gustave Nadaud. 


246. Interpretation. 

Why did the old peasant have such a longing 
to go to Carcassonne? Why did he never go? 
What did he mean by “ One sometimes sees be¬ 
yond his reach ” ? Was his life happier because 
he did do this ? What does the last line of the 
poem mean ? 

If he had reached Carcassonne, do you think 
he would have found it more or less beautiful 
than he imagined ? Are you glad or sorry he 
did not go ? 


THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


305 


Who was the cure? What did he mean by 
“ Ambition ruins all mankind ” ? 

Did you ever hear of anyone who started 
on a pilgrimage and died by the way? Tell 
about it. 

Why does the poet use the word crooned? 
Give the meaning of unalloyed, pursue, vintage. 


347. W ritten Exercises. 

a. Find a more common word for u homily? 
Use it in a sentence. 

b. Use each of the following ivords in a connec¬ 
tion not found in this poem : 


plenteous gazes wayward 

crooned pilgrimage fulfillment 


c. Read the third stanza carefully ; then write a 
description of fair Carcassonne. Use a comparison 
other than that in the poem to make your descrip¬ 
tion vivid and beautif ul. 

d. Ash your teacher to tell you about Babylon, 
or some other city; then tvrite what you can re¬ 
member of her description or story. 

Memory Gem. 

He who rises late must trot all day .—Benjamin Frank- 


,306 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


Section CXY. COMPOSITION. 

Copy the following story , and note how it is di¬ 
vided into paragraphs: 

A Cheerful View of Things. 

“ How dismal you look! ” said a Bucket to his compan¬ 
ion, as they were going to the well. 

“ Ah ! ” replied the other, “ I was reflecting on the use¬ 
lessness of our being filled ; for, let us go away ever so full, 
we always come back empty.”' 

“ Dear me! how strange to look at it in that way! ” said 
the Bucket. “Now, I enjoy the thought that, however 
empty we come, we always go away full. Only look at it 
in that light, and you’ll be as cheerful as I am.” 

248. Oral Exercise. 

Imagine a summer evening with the sun setting 
in the west and the moon rising in the east. Take 
the part of the sun and choose one of your class¬ 
mates to he the moon. Imagine ivhat they would 
say to each other foi a the few moments they are to¬ 
gether in the sky. 


249. Written Exercise. 

Write a story based on' the above exercise. Write 
first a short introductory paragraph describing the 
evening , then reproduce the conversation, or write 
one of your own if you prefer , taking care to ob¬ 
serve the proper arrangement into paragraphs. 


Note .—Similar selections should be given from dictation to familiarize chil¬ 
dren with the division of a conversation into paragraphs. 



THE PARTS OF SPEECH 


307 


Section CXVI. COMPOSITION. 

250. Oral and Written Exercise. 

Choosing one of the following topics , tell an in¬ 
teresting story , true or imaginary: 

(1) One Day’s Fun. (3) What Became of a 

(2) How I Earned Some Dollar. 

Money. (4) On the Train. 

251. Written Exercises. 

a. * Write a vivid and, interesting description of 
one of tlie following: 

(1) Our Neighborhood. (3) A Place I Enjoy. 

(2) What I Like to Do. (4) My Favorite Rooni. 

b. Choosing one of the following suggestions, 
write an interesting story containing a surprise 
of some hind: 

(1) A Strange-looking Package on Christmas Eve. 

(2) Lost in the Woods. 

(3) Adrift in a Boat without Oars or Sail. 

(4) In Her Stocking on Christmas Morning. 

(5) Locked In. 

Memory Gem. 

When by night the frogs are croaking, 

Kindle but a torch’s fire, 

Ha ! how soon they all are silent! Thus 
Truth silences the liar. 

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . 


308 


MODERN ENGLISH LESSONS 


SUMMARY OF CHAPTER VI. 

A word used as a name is called a Noun. 

A noun used as the name of a particular object is 
called a Proper Noun. 

A noun that is common to all objects of the same 
kind is called a Common Noun. 

Proper nouns and words derived from them 
should always begin with capital letters. 

A word used to stand for a noun is called a 
Pronoun. 

A word used to modify a noun or a pronoun is 
called an Adjective. 

The adjectives “a” or “an ” and “the” are 
called Articles. 

“A” should be used before a consonant sound, 
“an” before a vowel sound. 

A word used to modify a verb or a modifier is 
called an Adverb. 

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other 
adverbs. 

A word placed before a noun or a pronoun to 
show its relation to some other word is called a 
Preposition. 

The noun or the pronoun used with a preposi¬ 
tion is called the Object of the Preposition. 

A word used to connect clauses, phrases, or 
words is called a Conjunction. 

Conjunctions sometimes stand first in the sen¬ 
tence. 

A word used as a sudden expression of feeling, 
but not forming part of a sentence, is called an 
Interjection. 

An interjection should be followed by an excla¬ 
mation point. 

















